Without shining in the game, Gym showed solidity to snatch three points against Bordeaux (1-0). Enough to climb to the sixth place and enjoy a breath of fresh air.
The day after the stunning announcement of Jean-Pierre Rivère and Julien Fournier leaving, the Aiglons are already back at the Allianz Riviera with their supporters.
On this cold winter evening, the stadium is sparsely populated, but it doesn’t matter. The essential thing for Gym is to accumulate points. The three (or five) man backline is gone: Patrick Vieira opts for a 4-3-3 at the start of the match. Familiar with the left axis, Malang Sarr shifts to the left flank, with Hérelle and Dante taking the center and Atal keeping his right side. Cyprien returns to his sentinel position, with Tamèze and Makengo placed slightly higher.
Shaken by the Bordelais from the start, mainly due to losing the ball during construction, the men from the Côte deserve to score on their first real opportunity. Well served by Saint-Maximin, Sacko is tripped in the box by Jovanovic. A contact far from obvious but confirmed by the VAR, which Mr. Rainville takes time to review. Allan Saint-Maximin has no hesitation in converting the penalty (1-0, 16th minute).
Gym then settles for managing their lead while taking advantage of the clumsiness of Bordeaux’s attackers, who are unable to exploit Nice’s defensive struggles to clear the ball.
The second half begins on the same footing, but soon the Bordelais appear resigned. The Aiglons then attempt to score a second goal, notably through several counterattacks led by Sacko and Saint-Maximin, but without success. Another satisfaction of the evening, the performances of Youcef Atal and Eddy Sylvestre, a first-time starter in Ligue 1, deserve praise. Walter Benitez delivers another solid match and keeps a clean sheet once again.
Ultimately, Gym wins, and this success is very beneficial for Patrick Vieira’s men, who are also warmly applauded by the OGC Nice supporters at the end of the match. In this period of turmoil concerning the club’s management, it was crucial to win to get back on track.
Especially since on Wednesday, Gym travels to its Monaco neighbor for the Côte d’Azur derby, the postponed match of the seventeenth day. Join us at 7 PM at the Louis-II stadium for the kickoff.
PATRICK VIEIRA’S REACTION
“It was a very complicated match, difficult against a very good Bordeaux team. In terms of control and technical quality, they were better than us. But we compensated for our shortcomings with the desire to do well, generosity, and solidarity. That’s the minimum to hope to build a great team for the future. We want the beautiful game, of course, but against a team like Bordeaux, it’s difficult. We had the intentions, starting from the back, but we had too much waste in the midfield.”
DANTE’S REACTION
“The young players took on their responsibilities, which is good. We are focused on our game, and tonight was better than our last matches. Despite the change of system, we didn’t concede a goal. We shouldn’t look too much at the standings. The spirit was impeccable: we really gave it our all.”
ADRIEN TAMEZE’S REACTION
“It was our first match of the year, and it was important to take the 3 points. We managed to regain the mindset we had when we went on our series in the first part of the season. Now, we have to continue like this and move forward. We’re going to focus on Wednesday’s postponed match against Monaco.”
