For the rematch of the August game, which was halted due to incidents between fans and players, OGC Nice traveled to a neutral ground in Troyes, without their supporters, to face OM.
The Eagles knew it would be a battle for 90 minutes, and they got off to a great start in the match.
Evann Guessand, brimming with confidence after his winning goal against Lyon, also started this game perfectly. In the third minute, he provoked and pierced through the Marseille defense for Nice’s first offensive.
A few minutes later, he was served by Kamara after the latter recovered the ball. The young 20-year-old striker assisted his attacking partner Amine Gouiri, who opened up his foot: post and in, 1-0 for his sixth goal of the season in the sixth minute.
The Eagles continued to pose a threat by recovering many balls and quickly pushing forward, with Guessand once more at the heart of the attack. In the 14th minute, making his first start of the season, he took the ball in deep and shot across, but it went far wide.
After 30 minutes of play, Nice was dominating. Well-positioned and very focused, they had conceded only one shot, off-target, effectively cutting short Marseille’s counterattacks and possessions.
As often, the Gym played on the counter. Atal recovered and sent the ball to Gouiri, who had the chance to score a double in the 35th minute, but Pau Lopez won the duel.
One minute later, Atal again sent a superb cross to Kamara, who mishit the shot off target.
Despite significant domination by Nice, OM began to have several long possession sequences, which paid off with their first on-target shot of the match. Gerson crossed from the left side, Milik let the ball go by for Payet, who controlled and finished perfectly to the left of Benitez just before halftime, making it 1-1.
Nice started the second half as they did the first, with a lot of intent and intensity. They managed to obtain a corner, and Todibo headed it, with Lopez intervening. It came back to Dante, but the Spanish goalkeeper was there again (51st minute).
Marseille was suffering but managed to get an opportunity in the 64th minute, again thanks to Gerson, who crossed to Milik. But the Polish striker couldn’t get hold of the ball, closely marked by Todibo.
Marseille held onto the ball and approached Benitez’s goal, with former red and black Saliba attempting a shot in the 71st minute.
Time passed, the Gym held possession without really creating chances, while OM looked to counter.
Nice launched another attack in stoppage time, first on a corner and then down the right side with Atal, who crossed, but it didn’t reach the feet of an Eagle.
The match ended in a logical draw. OGC Nice could have sealed the game in the opening minutes with several chances. Subsequently, OM woke up and regained control of the ball, while the Gym became more subdued, especially with the injury exit of Evann Guessand, who had contributed significantly to the offense in his first Ligue 1 starting appearance.
