OGC Nice is heading to the park this afternoon to take on PSG. A formidable challenge for Puel’s men in the race for the podium.
Lyon did it. So did Monaco. Undefeated during the first 27 days of the championship, Paris has since been beaten twice. Against two teams vying for second place in the championship. For Laurent Blanc and his team, it doesn’t change much, but for the others, it changes everything. Paris will be one of the referees of this season’s end. After their defeats against Lyon and Monaco, the capital’s club must play Nice this afternoon and then Rennes. Essentially, the four clubs competing for the remaining two tickets to the Champions League.
And Nice arrives at a key moment in Paris’s season. Four days before the first leg of the quarter-final against Manchester City, Paris has its eyes set on Europe. Enough to demobilize them? Uncertain. Because while the Parisians have sometimes shown nonchalance, they have never forgotten to properly prepare for the big occasions. After an international break, what better for the Parisian club than a team like OGC Nice to get back into the rhythm and fine-tune the details? Deprived of several players like Marco Verratti, Javier Pastore, or Angel Di Maria, Paris will nonetheless remain extremely competitive. As always.
But Nice also has its ambitions. The red and blacks spent the break comfortably sitting in third place, which their style of play fully deserves. The challenge is to keep it in this final stretch of the championship. This will require excellent performances against the top teams. This afternoon or next week against Rennes, for instance. For the players, it’s the same story. Hatem Ben Arfa has not yet said goodbye to the Euro, even though the performances of Payet and Coman for the national team have clearly distanced him. He too must prove and re-prove his worth against top teams. If only to convince a club of this stature that a future collaboration is possible.
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