This Saturday, OGC Nice was defeated by PSG (0-3) without being able to challenge their supremacy. Despite a revamped team, the Parisians left no chance for the Aiglons.
Stay alive as long as possible, to maintain hope. Against Paris and their army of stars, the situation is always clear, but the opponent is always just as difficult to control. Unfortunately, the Gym didn’t have enough time for the small flame to become a big fire. Trailing (0-1) at halftime, then broken a minute after returning to the field; with a numerical disadvantage for half an hour, they didn’t dream long enough to weaken the giant.
In the first 5 minutes, it took 2 saves from Benitez (against Rabiot and Mbappé) to prevent the match from ending before it really began. The Argentinian did his job. Behind, the Red and Blacks applied themselves in their passes, relied on Allan Saint-Maximin’s strength to make differences; on the activity and precision of Tameze, excellent in midfield, to develop their ideas; and on Makengo’s drive, who always played forward but was forced to leave his teammates, injured, half an hour into the game (replaced by Cyprien).
“JV” was actually at the origin of the first local response when he set up Myziane after cutting through the center. The former Lyon player got past Kehrer, but was thwarted by an alert Aréola (5’). Thiago Silva almost scored an own goal on the following corner, and afterwards, the Gym continued to play but struggled against the movement and individuality of their opponent (who started with a back three). Neymar, very free and hard to mark, constantly wandered between the lines; the wingers (Diaby and Nkunku) stayed wide to open up the play; and Mbappé, up front, threatened with each sprint.
During the first 45 minutes, the visitors created a series of opportunities. Di Maria hit the post (11’), Malang used his strength to protect his goal in front of Marquinhos (15’); and at the end of a play initiated by Nkunku, relayed by Mbappé and Diaby, Neymar opened his foot from 18 meters, finding the perfect angle (0-1, 22’). The same Neymar, just before halftime, thought he had scored a double with a high recovery and a quick move, but the VAR indicated a crucial offside (43’); before Di Maria, alone at 6 meters, sent a powerful shot over Benitez’s crossbar (46’).
At halftime, the Gym was still alive. Coach Vieira took the opportunity to try a tactical move, bringing in Mario Balotelli in place of Racine Coly, and switching from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3. But Paris doubled the lead as soon as the game resumed, with a textbook move that went very fast (too fast): a laser pass, a one-two between Mbappé and Nkunku, a burst of speed from the World Cup winner, who dribbled past Benitez before shooting at Malang Sarr, then Nkunku finished the job “on the rebound” (0-2, 46’).
Damaged by this start, the red and black group saw their chances diminish. Then extinguish when Wylan Cyprien left his teammates down to 10, after a second yellow, an hour into the game. From then on, Paris put less intensity into their game, attacked with less bite, and retained possession to avoid even beginning a problem. Benitez made a few saves, but Paris ended the afternoon by scoring a third goal, offered by Mbappé to Neymar, at the very end of the match (0-3, 90+2’).
PATRICK VIEIRA’S REACTION
“When you lose 3-0 it’s difficult. I don’t have much to blame my players for. In terms of attitude, they gave their best. We tried to cause them problems but unfortunately in our good first twenty minutes we didn’t manage to score which would have helped us. From the moment Paris scored their first goal it became more and more complicated for us.”
CHRISTOPHE HÉRELLE’S REACTION
“I think we started the match well, as the coach asked us to. We had a good first twenty minutes, but PSG got going after their goal and it became difficult. We did our best but we came up against better than us. We’ll continue working with the Toulouse match in mind, to do everything to get points as soon as possible.”
DANTE’S REACTION
“We tried to put something in place, to go after them high, to put pressure on the ball carrier, we dared. Unfortunately, Paris also changed their system and, opposite, there are very good players who put us in difficulty. They’re used to playing in the Champions League, where everything goes fast, the sequences, the passes, the movements. We saw a very good Paris tonight, but on our side, it’s not all bad. We need to keep the same mindset and watch the match again to do our self-critique. Despite the defeat, it’s an evening where we learn.”
