Incredible but true! OGC Nice was defeated on the field by Dijon, at the end of a match marked by new incredibly blatant refereeing errors…
The game promised to be open. It lived up to all its promises and, unfortunately, the people from Nice paid the price. It started under the best auspices for Lucien Favre’s men. Positioned in the traditional 4-3-3, with Marlon aligned for the first time on the right of the defense and the return of Balotelli and Lees-Melou to the starting lineup (suspended against Toulouse), the Eagles set a real pace for the proceedings. More inspired, more incisive, they put the locals under pressure during the first quarter of an hour. After 5 minutes, the Italian center-forward pressed high, stole a ball at the touchline, and then raced towards the goal. From a tight angle, he tried to shoot between Reynet’s legs – despite Plea’s good run at 6 meters -, but the Burgundian goalkeeper blocked it.
An action that sums up the opening phase for Nice: full of desire but not accurate enough. This is evidenced by the multitude of corner kicks that led to nothing.
After this first quarter, DFCO, playing their 100th game in Ligue 1 this Saturday, gradually loosened the grip. They gained some meters on the field. They too got a foot on the ball. Without ever worrying Walter Benitez during the first half (except for a few free kicks and a shot by Said off frame in the 39th minute).
Without being dominated, the Gym focused on defending well, but were too disorganized in their attacks. In succession: Balotelli chipped a ball for Plea, down the middle, but the excellent Reynet narrowly beat the number 14 (31). Il Signore sent two free kicks at the end of the period, but did not put enough power into his first attempt and failed to hit the target with the second. The 22 players returned to the changing rooms without having set a frenetic pace to the exchanges.
BAD SCENARIO
That changed upon their return to the field. And if the start of the match favored Nice, the beginning of the second half turned in favor of Dijon. Two minutes after kick-off, Julio Tavares took advantage of a long ball from Baptiste Reynet deflected by Naim Sliti to race alone towards the goal. After a 40-meter run, the forward hit the crossbar of Walter Benitez (47′). The Gym felt a strong chill despite the cold atmosphere. A chill synonymous with a wake-up call. They rallied, revolted but squandered 3 big chances. Tameze found Reynet’s foot (51′), Balotelli, alone at the 2nd post, did not exploit a good cross from Lees-Melou and misaligned his shot (54′), then Srarfi fell upon an attentive Djilobodji (56′). Football has its ruthless rules, and Nice quickly regretted this series of failures. Launched by Amalfitano, Tavares won his second duel against Benitez and opened the scoring with his left foot (0-1, 61′).
The story seemed written: the Gym was to move towards its Europa League round of 16 with 3 consecutive defeats in Ligue 1. It continued despite a huge reaction of pride. Recently entered in place of Srarfi, Saint-Maximin took the pen and ignited the scenario. With one of his first balls, the winger found Lees-Melou at 18 meters: the former Dijon player unleashed a shot of daring precision, equalized and, very elegantly, did not celebrate his goal (1-1, 66′).
Following that, Plea took possession of the pen. Taking advantage of Rosier’s advance, “Lasso” rocketed down the left corridor, dismissed Yambéré in full stride, without a glance, and elegantly placed his shot (2-1, 68′).
It took an incomprehensible decision by Mr. Rainville to disrupt the finale. The referee penalized “a slight push” by Sarr in the penalty area, and Tavares scored a double (2-2, 78′). Galvanized by this unfortunate goal, taking advantage of an electric context, Dijon took the lead again on a ball tackled by Jeannot from Kwon (2-3, 83′), and this time Dante’s team did not recover. This 25th day therefore ended with a bad conclusion.
The Gym must quickly recover for one of the most important chapters in its history, scheduled for Thursday night against Lokomotiv Moscow.
LUCIEN FAVRE’S REACTION
“Overall, we should never lose the match. In the play, we were okay, even though we suffered some counters. We have chances too before Dijon’s opener, but we don’t convert them. Overall, it’s not bad until then. The team reacts magnificently well afterward. We scored two beautiful goals, on lovely actions, and then… We don’t see anything from the bench, and I haven’t yet reviewed the images. If there really is nothing as everybody seems to say, it’s starting to be a lot… At Metz, the expulsion is harsh. Against Toulouse, there’s a 100% penalty on Makengo, and we don’t get it. What is certain is that it changes the dynamic of the match. We restart a team. However, we must not fall into that. We must do better.
Whether the 2-2 is valid or not, we can get angry, but we must know how to avoid the 3rd goal. There is some inattention there. We deserved to win, we could have earned a point, and we leave with no points. We are very disappointed because we had the match in hand, and there is nothing left at the end. It’s hard to accept for everyone. If we put aside the result, there were good sequences. However, some things are missing, sometimes it’s not enough. Three consecutive defeats are hard. We will have to get over it quickly. When we had our streak, I kept repeating that it didn’t rest on much. Now, we must go for those 10% that make the difference.”
JEAN-PIERRE RIVERE’S REACTION
“I am outraged. This is the 4th consecutive match (Monaco, Metz, Toulouse, and Dijon) where we feel like we are playing 11 against 12. The refereeing differences from one game to another are incomprehensible. Last week, we were denied a penalty for a blatant foul in the area (on Makengo), and tonight a penalty is given to Dijon for a small push, a hand on the shoulder, like you see on every set piece, because the opposing player collapses. It changes the course of the game. And not by the opposing team’s doing. It nullifies all the players’ efforts on the field. It is not OGC Nice’s habit to challenge refereeing. But given such an accumulation in recent matches, we can’t remain silent. These inconsistencies need to stop.”
ALASSANE PLÉA’S REACTION
“We came back well to the score, and unfortunately, the referee blows the whistle for a penalty, and we don’t know why, as usual. That’s what kills the game for us. It’s been several times, like at Monaco. Here, we had the match in hand, it’s the refereeing that breaks it and causes us to lose. We could have won, and unfortunately, it’s a 3rd consecutive defeat, it’s a shame. There’s a European Cup match coming up (Thursday against Lokomotiv Moscow), and we have to quickly project onto it. The European Cup has nothing to do with the league, and we are eager to do something because we have the capabilities. We will have to be at 200% and give it our all.”
