Nice loses 2-1 at Rennes in the final moments of the match even though Éric Bautheac had opened the scoring in the first half. A very bad result for the Niçois, who see the direct competition for staying up in the league getting closer behind them. The next game is on Saturday against Caen, and it’s a match they absolutely cannot afford to lose.
This one hurts! Dominating for a good part of the match, the Niçois saw Rennes come back to equalize and then take the lead in the 90th minute. The refereeing by Mr. Chapron was of very poor quality. The fight to avoid relegation continues, and the stress is far from evaporating.
There was a surprise when the match sheets were revealed, with the first professional start for the very young left-back Olivier Boscagli (17 years old). Another key piece of information, Valentin Eysseric starts on the bench, and it’s Grégoire Puel who plays as the right midfielder.
The match starts at full throttle with enterprising Niçois. The first opportunity for the red and black sees Alassane Plea hit the post. His right-footed curling shot, from nearly 25 meters out, beats Costil but his post saves him (6th minute). The Rennais, struggling, are unable to approach the Niçois goal thanks to the excellent performance by Romain Genevois, who was omnipresent.
It’s halfway through this first period that OGC Nice opens the scoring with Eric Bautheac. The left midfielder initiates the action, but it’s a Rennes scramble that allows Plea to powerfully cross in front of the goal. Bautheac only has to push the ball into Costil’s net (22nd minute, 0-1). A well-deserved lead. At the half-hour mark, a contact in the penalty area between Genevois and Ntep seems questionable, but the referee doesn’t react. Following that, Carlos Eduardo stays down on the field. Knocked out, the Brazilian gets up after two to three minutes of anxiety. More fear than harm.
At the start of the second half, Philippe Montanier’s men equalize thanks to Prcic. Grosicki, on the verge of being offside, serves the Franco-Bosnian, who follows through with a shot that goes under Pouplin’s legs (47th minute, 1-1). A serious setback for Nice around the hour mark with their goalkeeper going off injured, having hurt his left thigh. This gives Joris Delle his first minutes in Ligue 1 this season.
And then it was time for the “Chapron Show”. Known for his unfavorable decisions, the notoriously strict referee disallows a goal by Bautheac for a completely nonexistent foul on Danzé (65th minute). On the following play, Delle performs a decisive save against a shot by Benjamin André (66th minute). Despite a final quarter-hour overwhelmingly dominated by the Eagles, they are hit by a stroke of bad luck. Rennes midfielder Konradsen sees his cross-shot loop over Delle and nestle into the net (90th minute, 2-1).
“It’s very hard to lose this kind of match. We were probably closer to winning it than losing it. We played a pretty good first half. We didn’t manage to increase our lead even though we had the chances. It’s a shame,” explains Claude Puel on the club’s official site.
A defeat that leaves a very bitter taste given the quality performance by the Niçois. Time and again, they lacked the offensive efficiency to “kill” the game a little earlier. And Nice loses more points due to refereeing that is, let’s face it, not up to Ligue 1 standards. Claude Puel’s men now have a four-point lead (plus goal difference) over the first team in the relegation zone, Evian T-G. But a win against Caen would almost certainly save the Azuréens. Caution. Tension.
Photo credit and more information at www.ogcnice.com
