In their first match of the Ligue 1 season, Les Aiglons suffered a tough 2-1 defeat against Auxerre, conceding the decisive goal in injury time. Mohamed-Ali Cho scored the only goal for Nice.

A cruel start to the season. Travelling to the Abbé-Deschamps to face AJ Auxerre and kick off their 2024-2025 campaign, Les Rouge et Noir will return home from Burgundy with a difficult loss to swallow. As the two teams seemed to be heading for a deserved draw, Dante and his teammates were caught off guard by a long clearance from goalkeeper Donovan Léon. This was hard for the Nice defence to handle and fully exploited by Lasso Coulibaly, who lobbed Marcin Bułka in the final seconds of added time (2-1, 90+5).

CHO SCORES THE FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON

Despite missing several key players, Franck Haise's squad started the match well. For his first official game as Nice’s head coach, the 53-year-old deployed a 3-4-3, giving first starts in Ligue 1 to new signings Tanguy Ndombele and Jonathan Clauss. Although Auxerre had an early chance through Lassine Sinayoko, whose shot just missed Bułka’s right post (9’), Nice struck first thanks to Mohamed-Ali Cho. Perfectly set up by a precise cross from Gaëtan Laborde, the attacking midfielder delivered a powerful header to beat Léon and score Nice’s first goal of the season (22’, 0-1).

Pushing forward but vulnerable to the promoted side’s quick attacks, Les Aiglons were then saved by their Polish goalkeeper. Quick to dive and block Ado Onaiwu’s shot (31’), Le Gym’s last line of defence once again denied the Auxerre striker, flying to stop his volley following a corner (32’).

NICE CAUGHT OFF GUARD

Capable of being dangerous, particularly down the left side where Gaëtan Laborde and Billal Brahimi combined well, Nice failed to reach half-time with their lead intact, as Rayan Raveloson managed to turn in the box and score with a pivot shot to equalise (44’, 1-1).

More controlled in the second half, Les Aiglons faced some scares from set pieces, such as a ball delivered by Gaëtan Perrin to the head of Jubal, who missed the target (49’). Showing promise with their play down the wing, the visitors also came close to scoring from a set piece, but Billal Brahimi’s effort was only just saved by a watchful Léon (63’).

Brought on for Mohamed-Ali Cho, Badredine Bouanani proved to be an asset, using his technical skills to push Auxerre back. From a perfectly placed ball at the edge of the box, the Algerian international thought he had secured an assist, but Jordan Lotomba’s header, ultimately ruled offside, hit the post (68’).

With a younger squad by the end of the match, including professional debuts for Victor Orakpo and Issiaga Camara, Le Gym eventually fell to defeat and left Burgundy empty-handed despite all their efforts. The Nice squad will aim to bounce back on Sunday 25 August, when they host Toulouse at the Allianz Riviera (5pm).

Hugo Rondet