Having been reduced to ten men after just nine seconds of play, Le Gym fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Angers this afternoon, on Matchday 8 of Ligue 1.

Football can sometimes be cruel and frustrating, and Le Gym certainly confirmed that this afternoon, as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Angers SCO in a game in which Les Aiglons played with ten men from the ninth second onwards. Shortly after the kick-off, Jean-Clair Todibo fouled Abdallah Sima, with referee Bastien Dechepy deciding to send off the Nice defender – an incredibly harsh decision that left everyone in a state of shock, be it those on the pitch, those on the bench, those in the stands, those watching on TV or even statisticians. The decision eventually weighed too heavily on proceedings, three days after the trip to Belgrade, although it was not the only factor in Nice’s defeat, as the visitors were also reduced to ten men for the last half an hour after Sofiane Boufal was shown a red card.

At kick-off, five players returned to the starting line-up, positioned in a 4-4-2 formation, after the 1-1 draw away to FK Partizan in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday. Marcin Bułka started in goal, with Andy Delort partnering with Gaëtan Laborde up front and Sofiane Diop operating on the left side of midfield, whilst Melvin Bard and Jordan Lotomba returned to their positions at full-back.

After nine seconds of play, the team’s shape became the following 4-4-1: Bułka - Lotomba, Lemina, Dante, Bard - Pépé, Diop, Thuram, Laborde - Delort.

A GOAL CONCEDED AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME

Having been galvanised by the sending-off and with a numerical advantage, Angers created the game’s opening chances, as Nabil Bentaleb’s free kick was deflected behind for a corner by the Nice wall before Adrien Hunou’s first-time shot from Azzedine Ounahi’s cross was pushed away by Bułka. Despite Todibo’s sending-off, Les Aiglons matched Les Noir et Blanc for the entire first half-hour of the game and resisted the visitors’ attacks, as shown by Nicolas Pépé’s right-footed shot going inches wide of the Angers goal before the Ivorian excellently tracked back to stop Sima. Diop then got his head onto the end of a Laborde cross and produced an acrobatic attempt, but Yahia Fofana was there to make the catch.

In the final ten minutes of the first half, Gérald Baticle’s players began to press more and more, looked increasingly dangerous and were first to every ball. Over on the right, the lively Ounahi was sending chills down the spines of the Nice defence, with Dante blocking a dangerous-looking shot from the Morocco international inside the box. Les Rouge et Noir stayed alert for any attacking opportunity, though, as Diop fired off a powerful, long-range shot that was stopped by Fofana.

Shortly afterwards, Bułka stood tall to authoritatively push away Hunou’s close-range shot from a cross from the left. Ounahi then won the ball back and tried his luck, but it was deflected by captain Dante. Then, just before the break, Nabil Bentaleb placed a right-footed shot into the top corner to open the scoring for Angers. Nice, who were now a goal down as well as a man down, went in at the break regretting the fact that they had conceded at the worst possible time.

DELORT HITS THE BAR

After the restart, Lucien Favre opted to make his first change of the game, bringing on Hicham Boudaoui in place of Laborde. The second half picked up where the first half had left off: with Angers dominating. A 54th-minute attempt from Souleyman Doumbia flew just over Bułka’s crossbar, but as the minutes ticked by, Le Gym became more and more confident. Having been played in well by Lotomba inside the area, Pépé saw his shot blocked by the Angers defence. Two minutes later, Delort was unable to get his close-range header from Bard’s cross on target. Then, on the hour mark, the game took another turn, as Sofiane Boufal was sent off after being given a second yellow card for diving inside the Nice penalty box.

With both teams now down to ten men, Les Aiglons had hope of making a comeback, so Favre decided to bring on some fresh legs, with Youcef Atal, Alexis Beka Beka and Ross Barkley entering the fray in place of Lotomba, Thuram and Diop. Nice were now playing higher, with more movement, and were forcing the Angers players back into their own half. Delort came close to equalising after getting his head on the end of an Atal cross, but Fofana tipped the ball onto the crossbar. Neither Le Bison’s low shot, nor his header from a corner that was saved by Fofana, nor his long-range, 90th-minute effort were able to help get Le Gym back into the game.

THE INTERNATIONAL break, then a trip to face PSG

International players aside, Les Aiglons will now make the most of the international break to recharge their batteries. On Saturday 1st October at 21:00 CET, Le Gym will travel to the Parc des Princes to face Paris Saint-Germain. Five days later, on Thursday 6th October at 18:45 CET, Les Rouge et Noir will play their third Conference League group game in the Czech Republic against FC Slovácko.