On the front foot and generally dominating against a strong Lille side, OGC Nice fought hard to avoid their first home defeat of the season this Sunday at the Allianz Riviera (2-2). Tom Louchet equalised in the dying seconds.

This Nice squad truly has a huge heart. Pressured at the start and trailing at the end despite creating numerous chances, Les Aiglons never gave up against Lille. Determined to maintain their unbeaten home streak—which has been intact since 15 May against PSG—Franck Haise's men kept believing, even when hope seemed lost. And then, in the 96th minute, after a long free-kick from Jonathan Clauss, Tom Louchet became the hero. Positioned on the left edge of the box, the young midfielder, a Nice academy graduate, benefited from the distraction created by 6'6" goalkeeper Marcin Bulka, who had ventured forward. Bulka narrowly missed the ball, which ricocheted off Evann Guessand’s heel and landed at Louchet's feet. Left unmarked, Louchet took a touch and struck a precise cross-shot, leaving Lucas Chevalier, solid until then, helpless. The Allianz Riviera erupted, embodying the spirit of its team: never giving up. 

Lille control the early stages

Until the dramatic stoppage-time equaliser, this Matchday 11 encounter had been a frustrating one for Nice. Just three days after securing a hard-fought Europa League draw against Twente (2-2), where they came back from two goals down despite being a man short, Nice faced one of France's top sides. Lille arrived on the Côte d'Azur buoyed by their recent Champions League victories over Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid and a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions. Fourth in the league table, Lille controlled the start of the match with their technical quality and high pressing, creating the game’s first chances, like Jonathan David’s header that missed the target in the 3rd minute. Lille’s lead finally came through a promising young player, Matias Fernandez-Pardo, who sped past Youssouf Ndayishimiye down the left before slotting a clean strike under the crossbar (0-1, 19').

On the other side, as Franck Haise had announced, Nice took to the field with a heavily rotated line-up, featuring six changes from their European encounter. Haise overhauled the attacking line, which this time included Evann Guessand, Mohamed-Ali Cho and Jérémie Boga. Forced to defend deep, Ndayishimiye and his teammates tried to counter attack but lacked presence in the box, as seen in the 6th minute when Guessand couldn’t reach Boga’s cross. 

Diop revitalises Nice

After a rocky start, Nice found their footing and ended the first half strongly, though they couldn’t break through Lille’s defence. Cho missed a one-on-one, though it was later called offside (27') and Boga’s curling shot lacked power (30').

Largely without the ball in the first half, Nice made tactical adjustments in the second half. Following a similar approach to their comeback against Twente, Haise switched from a 3-4-3 to a more ambitious 4-2-3-1, orchestrated by Sofiane Diop in the central role. The Moroccan international, who had provided an assist in the Europa League, energised the Nice midfield. After a near miss from a cross from Tanguy Ndombele that Ali Abdi fired over the bar (53'), Diop found the net a few minutes later. Capitalising on a well-placed cross from Clauss on the right, Diop finished with a clever "Madjer" back-heel to beat Chevalier (1-1, 56'). 

Les Aiglons believed until the end

Urged forward by their supporters to push for the win, Nice’s momentum was halted by Mitchel Bakker. Isolated in the box, the former PSG defender finished clinically after André’s effort hit the post (1-2, 66'). It was a blow for Nice, who narrowly avoided conceding again in the dying moments, with Gabriel Gudmundsson’s shot hitting the right post and Diakité’s header also denied by the frame (81' and 85').

These close calls only strengthened Nice’s resolve. Going all-out in the final minutes with the additions of Gaëtan Laborde, Badredine Bouanani and Victor Orakpo, Franck Haise's team showed immense determination. Their efforts paid off when local hero Tom Louchet scored in virtually the last second. Still unbeaten at the Allianz, the Rouge et Noir will now enjoy a well-deserved rest over the international break, before returning to their home ground at the end of November to face Strasbourg (24/11) and Glasgow Rangers (28/11).

Hugo Rondet