Weighed down by a defensive error and poor refereeing, the Aiglons still managed to snatch a draw. They could have even won it at the end of the match…
Everything was there, except for the finishing. The play, the energy, the chances. Nice put all the elements in, showed overall superiority, but lacked efficiency in the final action, which penalized them throughout the game. However, Nice could have lost everything, and a point is never to be dismissed, especially against such solid opposition as the Greens.
A top-of-the-table clash was expected. A top-of-the-table clash took place. With one side in a 3-4-3 formation and the other in a 3-5-2, both Nice and Saint-Étienne delivered a very entertaining first half. In a Christmas-themed Allianz Riviera, the latter showed flair from the start, and the former followed suit, with enthusiasm. With inspiration. Leaning on the speedy Atal and the tireless Cyprien – Lees-Melou duo in defense.
Right from the start, a long ball from Saliba found Monnet-Paquet behind the red and black block, but luckily he fluffed his control (3’). The same Monnet-Paquet found Beric’s head, but Benitez intervened (8’); then Polomat hit a shot too high (11’) and Nice, shaken in the first quarter-hour, took control of the match. They put speed and precision in their exchanges and often managed to find their Algerian international in good positions.
With fire in his legs, Atal tormented Polomat every time he touched the ball, putting a lot of zeal into all his initiatives. On the other side, Saint-Maximin was lively, and every time the wide men were found, there was danger. ASM first found Tameze, whose header was caught by Ruffier (14’); cut inside from the left through to the middle and tested the side-netting of the green goal (15’); received a ball from a corner, danced past Diony but again found Ruffier on his path (18’).
Excellent throughout the first half, M’Vila lost a ball at half-time, exploited by the Ganago – Tameze duo, but the midfielder’s shot flew high (28’).
Finally Atal, again and again, bested Polomat on a solo run, entered the box, and tried his right foot. Ruffier deflected it onto his post, and both teams headed to the locker rooms on equal terms. With heads held high. Nice displayed freshness, desire, 58% possession, and 10 shots at halftime. The Greens showed experience and solidity. No one forgot to play. Every contact was tough. In short, the clash provided a beautiful spectacle, despite a blank scoreboard.
Cyprien’s superb free-kick was deflected by Ruffier right at the start of the second half. Walter Benitez perfectly smothered a Beric header from six meters (50’), setting the tone right away. Each side would exchange blow for blow. Both literally and figuratively. The visitor struck first, capitalizing on a local lapse in concentration. Faultless until then, Malang Sarr let a ball slip for a corner while trying to orchestrate a calm play. On the ensuing corner kick, Selnaes found the ball at its drop, unleashed a powerful shot, bounced back by the post. Diony’s follow-up was precise (0-1, 54’).
In response, after another bit of skill, Atal set the ball up for Ganago, but the center-forward missed the target (55’). A huge chance—and another one—before things really kicked off.
On a Saint-Étienne counter, Hérelle was directly red-carded for a tackle as the last defender. Immediately after, it was Salibur’s turn to prematurely exit the field, receiving a second yellow (63’) for a bad tackle on Cyprien.
With 10 against 10, spaces opened up. Sainté sought to seal the win, while Nice wanted to bounce back. A whiff of a K.O. lingered over the Plaine du Var. Tactically, Rémi Walter, very tidy upon his return to the starting XI, slipped into the left wing for the final half-hour.
Wylan Cyprien curled a sumptuous free-kick, with a quarter of an hour remaining. Unbreakable, Ruffier fetched it from the top corner (73’). On the ensuing corner, Malang Sarr overhit his shot, but Nice pushed increasingly hard. Dante headed over, prompting the entire stadium to rise and fall back down (76’).
But the Aiglons never dropped their heads. They ended up being rewarded. On another foray, Allan Saint-Maximin was fouled (not so sure based on replay) in the box, and Wylan Cyprien stepped up as the leader, coolly slotting it home (1-1, 81’).
After that, the race was on. Benitez produced a magnificent block on a Nordin shot (85’). That was before the match-winning chance, crafted by Atal and placed at Lees-Melou’s feet. Standing alone six meters out, the midfielder missed the target. And Nice, overall, lacked efficiency in the final move, which hurts them when the scores are tallied.
Nonetheless, they played, showed character, and refused to accept defeat. This earned them another point.
THE STAT: 641
Walter Benitez conceded his first goal in Ligue 1 after keeping his goal clean for 641 minutes, a record this season in the championship.
PLAYER RATINGS
Walter Benitez: 8
Another superb performance from the Argentine goalkeeper. Making 3 decisive saves, Walter saved the day with a magnificent block at the end of the match. Nice can once again thank him.
Dante: 5.5
Troubled by the speed of the Saint-Etienne attackers, the captain was nonetheless exceptional one-on-one. Typically perfect in passing, the Brazilian showed instability in this area.
Christophe Hérelle: 4
Struggled with every attack, the young French player even received a red card following a foul on Beric. The entire Nice central defense suffered.
Malang Sarr: 3
Absent in duels, absent in passing, just absent overall. The French youth international completely missed his match. He was even responsible for the corner leading to ASSE’s goal after retreating too much during a basic clearance from Stéphane Ruffier.
Youcef Atal: 7
Once again, the Algerian was everywhere. Timid in the first half, the Nice right-back then turned his opponent’s head. Unstoppable in the second half, he made many runs and exploited gaps. He even hit the bar in the first half. Another strong game.
Wylan Cyprien: 6
Positioned in front of the defense, the midfielder did his defensive duties without contributing much offensively. Notable are two on-target free-kicks that troubled Stéphane Ruffier. Scored from the penalty spot.
Pierre Lees-Melou: 5
Paired with Cyprien, he fought for every ball. Good energy release that somewhat masked his flaws in play. Late on several Saint-Étienne attacks. Missed a sitter with less than five minutes left. Frustrating.
Adrien Tamèze: 5
Just like against Angers, he was positioned higher up the pitch. Too many backward passes. Doesn’t contribute enough offensively.
Rémi Walter: 5
Much like his counterpart Tamèze, a good energy release to mask his mistakes. Repositioned to the left after Hérelle’s red card.
Allan Saint–Maximin: 7.5
An incredible work rate! Runs toward goal, driving forward from the first to the 90th minute. Made the opposing defense lose itself. Won a penalty (generous) that Cyprien converted.
Ignatius Ganago: 5.5
Starting upfront, he replaced the injured Mario Balotelli. Few accurate passes but good work rate. Technically limited, the striker compensates with aggressiveness. Shows potential but still needs work.
PATRICK VIEIRA’S REACTION
I take away the group’s positive spirit. We were behind and pushed to come back, managed it, and even had a chance to win the match. The mindset and attitude was right, and the players gave it their all. In the last 15-20 minutes, we probably deserved better. There were chances on both sides; it could have been 2-2 or 3-3. But we’re left frustrated because in the last ten minutes, there was room to take all 3 points. When you look at our recent matches, we’ve been hovering between 5 and 10 shots. Now we’re at over 20, which means we’re progressing, putting ourselves in shooting positions. We must keep working to instill more confidence in the players to finish.
WYLAN CYPRIEN’S REACTION
We’ll focus on the positives. We came back to score. We were down to 10, they were too, we pushed. We earned a penalty with a very good Allan tonight, creating many chances. But we didn’t know how to kill the game, especially at the end, on Pierre’s chance, although there were others before. We’ll have to quickly get back to work. We have Guingamp at home on Wednesday and then a trip to Strasbourg. We need to gather as many points as we can before the winter break to enjoy the holidays peacefully.
