OGC Nice falls 3-1 against Olympique Lyonnais, which continues to impress more and more with each outing. Despite Grégoire Puel’s opening goal, Nice couldn’t hold on and drops to 10th place. With an away game at Evian and then hosting Reims, the Eagles should have two manageable matches to earn points.
A favorable scenario, an opening goal in the 50th minute but a match finish where the 120 minutes from Wednesday’s game (elimination against Metz in the Coupe de la Ligue) are costly. With an expanding infirmary and players returning from injury, forming a squad is not easy. Claude Puel made his choices: Albert, injured for 6 weeks, takes the place of Digard, who was hit in the calf against Metz. Alassane Plea is maintained upfront with Carlos Eduardo in support.
The start of the match is clearly Lyon’s. OL imposes its rule in the midfield, wins duels and creates chances. It requires a double save from Mouez Hassen, increasingly confident, in the 13th minute to keep the score at 0-0. Nice’s first opportunity comes in the 18th minute. Carlos Eduardo accelerates and sends Plea deep, but Lopes, the Lyon goalkeeper, intervenes in time. The last hot action of this first half sees Jordan Amavi not yield to Lacazette. The left-back stops the Lyon attacker who was heading towards the goal. A score of 0-0 at halftime despite chances and play.
Upon returning from the locker room, Mathieu Bodmer, injured in his ribs, is replaced by Kevin Gomis. A few minutes after the second half kick-off, Lacazette collapses in the penalty area after contact with Gomis. Mr. Delerue should have awarded a penalty to OL. In the following action, Eric Bauthéac takes a free kick near the halfway line, Bedimo misses it, which benefits Grégoire Puel. The right midfielder, much criticized for more than a season, doesn’t hesitate and strikes the ball which ends under Lopes’ crossbar (1-0, 50th). An opening goal that wakes up the Allianz Rivera!
“I didn’t hesitate on the goal, I took advantage of Bedimo’s missed clearance and struck without controlling. I respond to the criticism with this goal, it’s the best way to react,” explains Grégoire Puel after his first professional goal.
Claude Puel’s men play higher, press, and recover many balls. But, on a perfectly played action between Bedimo and Malbranque, the Lyon midfielder beats Hassen with a flat foot, Lyon equalizes (1-1, 64th). As the minutes pass, the Nice players tire, logically after having played 120 minutes on Wednesday evening against Metz. Alexandre Lacazette takes advantage and, in a solo exploit, beats three defenders and finishes Hassen off with a near-post shot (1-2, 80th). The Eagles have only themselves to blame, especially Eric Bauthéac. After a shot from Alassane Plea hits the post, Bauthéac, alone two meters from the goal, shoots over. An incredible miss (89th). At the end of added time, Lacazette, the in-form striker of the moment, scores his brace with a 20-meter strike (1-3, 90+4). The game is over.
“We had decided to press them, to be enterprising. Lyon managed the game well, they had good control, and we struggled to recover the ball. We’re present with the current strengths, it’s a frustrating result,” regrets Claude Puel.
With this defeat, Nice drops to 10th place with 17 points, while Lyon confirms its place on the podium. Now it’s time for recovery before an away game against Evian, the last team in Ligue 1, next Saturday at 8 pm.
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