For this first day of Ligue 1, OGC Nice traveled this Sunday at 1 pm to the home of the newly promoted Ligue 2 champion: Toulouse FC.
It’s official, OGC Nice has played its first championship match of the season. A week after the friendly victory against Torino (1-0), the Aiglons began against a promising team in this new exercise. Last year, the TFC dominated Ligue 2 in style, thanks to a recruitment of several great finds. The players of Philippe Montanier had showcased an uninhibited offensive football and seem to want to continue this way in Ligue 1.
Indeed, right from the start of this match, it was Toulouse that showed a certain confidence with the ball at their feet. Led by their speedy attackers supported by the organizers in the midfield, the left side of the azure rearguard was put under pressure. Bard and Dante were outplayed on numerous occasions with deep balls, especially due to the movements of Dallinga who opened the scoring in the 20th minute following a long ball from Van den Boomen. 1-0 for TFC and the first goal conceded by Nice in this exercise. It took until the 30th minute for Nice to pose any threat to Dupe’s goal. It was Delort who made an attempt (27th) after a beautiful move by Lotomba, then Stengs with a powerful shot that hit the crossbar. We saw the Dutchman a few minutes later, as he delivered a cross to Amine Gouiri, the former Lyon player headed the ball but didn’t generate enough power.
At halftime, it was indeed the TFC leading 1-0. OGC Nice had several chances, but the score represented the first half well. The Toulousians showed more confidence and skill, while the Niçois appeared nervous and somewhat overwhelmed.
The Niçois were still too apathetic at the start of the second half, the TFC controlled the Gym’s offensives without pressure. It wasn’t until an hour into the game that there was some action, often spearheaded by Thuram.
It was the substitutions that would bring a new dynamic to this match. Lemina, who is rumored to be leaving, immediately asserted himself in the midfield with a lot of strength and calm, replacing Beka Beka who had set up the play quite well. Brahimi and Ramsey also showed their decisiveness shortly after coming on. As was the case during preparation, the Algerian international brought explosiveness. He initiated a run through the defense before assisting Ramsey at the edge of the area, who finished perfectly. 1-1 in the 78th minute on the Welshman’s second ball in Ligue 1. Boosted by this new energy, Lucien Favre’s men dominated possession and created several chances. The last action of the match could have given the Gym the victory, but Dupe saved his goal twice.
Thus, OGC Nice starts the new 2022-2023 season with a draw. A first championship match against a strong Toulouse team confident in their football, which immediately put our Aiglons under pressure. Once the Nice machine got going, they gave TFC a hard time, especially thanks to the substitutes. Although the Gym did not triumph for Favre’s 100th, the play shown intermittently in this first match already makes us eager for next week to witness the reception of Strasbourg.
