OGC Nice secured a share of the spoils on Sunday night with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain at Allianz Riviera. Ali Abdi netted his debut goal for Les Aiglons in the first half.

Some draws are more frustrating than others, but Le Gym's 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday falls into the ‘good point earned’ category. Beaten 4-1 away to Lazio last Thursday in the Europa League, Les Aiglons wanted to bounce back in front of their home fans. And so they did, spurred on by more than 30,000 who passionately cheered on a Rouge et Noir side that fought right to the final whistle, despite the fatigue and pressure exerted by the visitors.

The last of four games in a fortnight, this massive clash against the three-time defending Ligue 1 champions witnessed a typically ambitious approach from Franck Haise's side, bolstered by the return to the starting line-up of Mohamed-Ali Cho and Tanguy Ndombele. Dante and Co. dominated the early exchanges, that featured their side’s customary intense pressing and aggressive approach.

LE GYM MAKE BRIGHT START

Lined-up on the right side of the attack, Evann Guessand showed all his power as he pushed the Parisians' defence, and Willian Pacho in particular, to the very limit. After intercepting a pass from Ousmane Dembélé, the Gym youth product raced into attack and beat his man, before firing a low shot just wide (4'). A minute later, the Nice striker's cross only just failed to pick out Cho, unmarked at the back post with the net gaping (5').

Determined to take the game to the Parisian giants, Les Aiglons came close to breaking the deadlock a third time, just before the quarter-hour mark. This time, the danger came from Jonathan Clauss, whose cross from the right flank was perfectly met by Cho. But the header was not enough to beat Gianluigi Donnarumma, who pulled off a fine save to his right (13').

Nice's defence left nothing but scraps for PSG. And even when Les Rouge et Noir were opened up by the technical quality of Luis Enrique's men, for example with Dembélé's pass to Barcola in behind Moïse Bombito, the home side prevailed with Youssouf Ndayishimiye clearing off the line (27').

ALI ABDI DELIVERS

Under increasingly more pressure as the minutes went by, Le Gym could also count on Marcin Bułka, who did well to keep out Nuno Mendes’ volley from the edge of the area (37’). Then came the moment. Cho and Jeremie Boga took off on the counterattack, only to be denied by the retreating Hakimi, stealing the ball away from the Côte d'Ivoire international. From the resulting next corner, Ali Abdi, volleyed home with his left foot from just outside the penalty box. The Carthage Eagle saw his shot deflected off the foot of Mendes to beat Donnarumma and send Allianz Riviera in to rapture (1-0, 39').

A tireless addition to the squad this summer, Abdi scored his first goal for his new club and could even have made it two with a header in injury time, this time saved by the opposition keeper (45+2’).

A COURAGEOUS FINISH

Deserved leaders after a dominant first-half display of pressure and intensity, Les Rouge et Noir eased off slightly at the start of the second period. And while Dembélé was unable to beat Bułka (47’), Mendes soon equalised following a quick corner. From the edge of the area, the Portuguese full-back saw his effort deflect off Bombito to squeeze inside the bottom corner of the net (1-1, 52'). Caught cold, the home side were then saved by the upright, keeping out Marquinhos’ header (54').

Franck Haise's troops, whose match against Lazio had been played in apocalyptic conditions in Rome on Thursday, were desperate to hold on and they left everything on the pitch in the final 30 minutes. Despite their fatigue, Le Gym managed to create chances, courtesy of the technique of midfielders Ndombele and Hicham Boudaoui, who were once again impressive on the ball, and the athletic quality of Guessand, who was untenable with his back to goal. It was one of the latter's numerous openings that brought the Côte d’Azur outfit close to scoring, when Clauss, launched down the right flank, placed a tricky low cross that was cleared in extremis by Marquinhos to deny Cho (60').

Running on empty, Les Aiglons held on with sheer courage, despite two dangerous efforts by Vitinha, the first from inside the box (76’) and the second from distance (80’), both of which were perfectly dealt with by Bułka. The 1-1 result means that Le Gym head into the international break in the top half of the Ligue 1 table, in 9th on 9 points. After a well-deserved rest, Les Rouge et Noir return to action on Sunday, 20 October, with a trip to Nantes (15:00 CET).

Hugo Rondet