Struggling against a tenacious Strasbourg team, the Aiglons managed to escape with a draw (1-1). The fifth place is still not secured.
The Gym, overtaken by ASSE yesterday (1-0 victory in Montpellier) and Racing, who hadn’t tasted victory in two months and saw the tail end of the standings approaching, could not afford to drop more points at Meinau this Saturday evening. Ultimately, the draw between the two teams, which seemed fair as both had their periods of dominance, satisfied no one. The Gym drops a place in the standings (pending Rennes’ match tomorrow) while Strasbourg sees the relegation zone getting closer with victories from Troyes and Lille.
To replace the suspended Plea, Lucien Favre started Ihsan Sacko against his former club, for his third start of the season. In a sold-out stadium, Racing started the match with a direct play that unsettled the Aiglons right from the start. Nice fans were nervous when Corgnet crossed the ball, which Dante and Benitez failed to communicate on, but fortunately without consequences (7′). Just as Marlon’s slip opened a path to goal for Bahoken, who couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity to hit the target (16′).
However, Strasbourg was rewarded in the 21st minute on a counterattack led by Bahoken down the right wing as he perfectly crossed for Saadi. The Blue and White forward got ahead of Marlon and placed an unstoppable header into Benitez’s far corner (1-0, 21′).
Nice’s response was timid, and apart from a central shot from Tameze (35′), the local goalkeeper had a quiet evening. The Red and Blacks had to wait until the 43rd minute to build their first convincing chance with a layoff from Balotelli to Saint-Maximin, who outpaced Seka before finding his Italian partner, who, with a low cross shot, challenged Oukidja who dived well.
At halftime, Sarr replaced Marlon, and Lucien Favre’s men returned with better intentions, playing higher up. Sacko wrong-footed Foulquier but was jostled without the referee reacting. An inconsequential action but with significant consequences for the former Strasbourg player who, injured in this clash, had to be replaced by Le Bihan. A few seconds after this change, on a corner played short by Lees-Melou to Seri, the Ivorian surprised Bahoken with an oriented control and was brought down. A penalty came from out of the blue, which Mario Balotelli didn’t hesitate to convert to bring both teams level and materialize his team’s good start in the second half.
Perhaps tired by their high pressing on the ball carrier during the first hour of play, Racing handed the ball over to the Aiglons, who could finally demonstrate their collective qualities. The duels became more intense, and Balotelli twice narrowly missed giving his team the lead. But the Italian forward found an excellent Alexandre Oukidja in his way, who blocked his sharp recovery (76′) before saving a curling effort from the No.9 aimed at the top corner (89′). The Gym, not particularly lucky this season, might have hoped for a break in stoppage time on a deflected cross from Lees-Melou, but the ball rebounded… off Oukidja’s post.
In eight days, the Red and Blacks head to the Vélodrome to continue their European dream.
THE STAT: 8/10
Mario Balotelli has scored 8 out of the 10 penalties he has taken in Ligue 1. The only exceptions: October 14, 2016, against Lyon (shot stopped by Anthony Lopes) & January 27, 2018, against Metz (shot blocked by Eiji Kawashima), but the Italian successfully followed up at St-Symphorien.
REACTION FROM LUCIEN FAVRE
“The first half was difficult. We struggled physically. Also on the second balls. They played in the air, and we were in trouble in the duels. We also struggled to keep the ball and control the game. We made “fake” movements, moving into spaces where we couldn’t receive the ball. So, inevitably, we lost it a lot and then had to run to recover it. In the second half, it was better. We finally had chances, more or less clear, but we had opportunities. We finally tried to outplay them because in the first half we did very little, we suffered from Strasbourg’s strong impact.”
REACTION FROM DANTE
“Given the first half, it’s a good point in the end, even if we came to win. In this European race, if we can’t win, we must know how not to lose. I still congratulate the whole team for their desire to come back. We didn’t give up until the end. It’s good, these are lessons to learn, and we must continue to play like this until the end.”
REACTION FROM ARNAUD SOUQUET
“We knew the atmosphere was hot here, and that Strasbourg needed points for their survival. What’s unfortunate, and not normal, is our first half. We don’t have the right, even if they have held their own against good teams here. We reacted in the second half, and, being more realistic at the end of the match, we could even have won. We continued to play our game, and they dropped off. It’s a point to take, as we could have ended up with nothing. Sainté is now 5th, pending Rennes’ result tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. We have a tough schedule; all matches will be difficult until the end. We’ll need to take points in Marseille next week.”
