OGC Nice were held to a 1-1 draw by Toulouse at the Stadium on Sunday on Ligue 1 Matchday 20. Gaëtan Laborde scored the only goal of the game for Les Aiglons.

A frustrating draw, but not an unreasonable one given the way the game went. Up against TFC in the sunshine at the Stadium on Sunday, Franck Haise's men thought they had all three points for a long time against opponents who are always difficult to beat at home. A week after a superb derby win over Olympique de Marseille (M19, 2-0), Les Aiglons were keen to continue their good league form in 2025. But just when it looked like the strong spell for the home side had passed, the visitors cracked. Following a dangerous free-kick taken by Cristian Casseres from the right, Mark McKenzie was ideally placed to take advantage of Marcin Bułka's fumble to equalise and hurt a Gym side close to victory (85', 1-1).

With a starting eleven identical to the one that brilliantly beat OM last Sunday, coach Haise opted for continuity against TFC. With his three-man attack of Guessand-Laborde-Cho, the Côte d'Azur coach aimed to take advantage of the space at the back against a Toulouse side that likes to play on the front foot when at home.

LABORDE SCORES AGAIN

This was a pattern of play that was on show early on in the game, with a quick counter-attack leading to Evann Guessand winning a penalty. Following a free-kick that was well dealt with and then quickly released by Bułka, Mohamed-Ali Cho ran 50 metres down the left flank, slaloming between Gboho and Kamanzi, before playing through Guessand in the box. After being brought down by Guillaume Restes, Nice's top scorer was awarded a penalty. Gaëtan Laborde expertly converted the spot-kick, making it 3/3 from the spot for him this season and taking him to 7 league goals in 2024-2025 (0-1, 18').

In fine form since the start of the winter, Le Gym’s number 24 even went close to a brace moments later after another lightning transition for Les Aiglons. Taking advantage of Guessand's well-struck cross, Laborde beat his marker, but this time Restes made a fine reflex save (30').

Dangerous in spurts, the Rouge et Noir retreated after missing this chance. Hampered by TFC's strong pressing, they held on for a long time thanks to a solid defence and a number of saves from a Bułka who was unstoppable for a long time. The Polish goalkeeper made a superb save from Zakaria Aboukhlal in the opening minutes (2') and was also on hand to keep out Yann Gboho's powerful effort, which was deflected by Dante's tackle (34'), before saving Frank Magri's header from Gabriel Suazo's well-taken corner (44').

AIGLONS LACK FINISHING TOUCH

Struggling to get the ball out in the face of their opponents' intensity, Hicham Boudaoui and Co continued to suffer after the break. Magri went close to beating Bułka with a side-footed finish from Donnum's shot across goal (54‘), before Melvin Bard pulled off a heroic block to keep out another low drive from the Norwegian international with his goalkeeper beaten (68’).

Forced to keep playing on the counter, Les Aiglons continued to pose a threat in front of goal, but lacked precision. The biggest opportunity came from Cho, who was a threat first on the left and then on the right after Guessand had gone off. The French winger tried his luck on the edge of the area, but Restes was alert enough to get down on the ground and push the ball away in two stages, before Jonathan Clauss missed his first-time volley (60').

Throwing everything they had at it after Toulouse had equalised, Le Gym could have regained the lead, but the final touch continued to be lacking. Baptiste Santamaria (90'+4) and Youssoufa Moukoko (90'+5) both failed to hit the target.

The draw keeps Les Aiglons in the top five, three points off the podium. Now it's on to the Coupe de France, with a Round of 16 clash at Stade Briochin on Wednesday 5 February (8:45pm).

Hugo Rondet