On Saint-Étienne’s field this Tuesday evening, OGC Nice was held by the Greens (0-0). At the end of a bland match, neither Saint-Étienne nor Gym secured an advantage in this playoff. Everything will be decided on Friday evening at the Allianz Riviera.
OGC Nice has a date with destiny! To save their skin in Ligue 1, the Eagles know what they had to do: win against Saint-Étienne, following a two-legged tie that started this Tuesday evening on the pitch of the Greens at Geoffroy-Guichard. And also save what remains of a season that failed from A to Z, while avoiding the disaster of being relegated to Ligue 2. In terms of lineup, Claude Puel reserved some surprises. These choices included a tactical change and a return to a four-man defense. Jonathan Clauss started a notch higher, in a winger role. Tiago Gouveia, meanwhile, wore the surprising starter’s bib. The Portuguese accompanied Cho and Diop in attack, in the absence of suspended Wahi.
On the field, the start of the match was marked by the early withdrawal of Hicham Boudaoui. Victim of a violent shoulder blow to the head, the Algerian international, completely dazed, was forced to give up his place – in favor of Charles Vanhoutte. The Saint-Étienne player was not even warned at the time, despite this ugly and clumsy gesture. For the rest, there wasn’t much to sink one’s teeth into in this first half. Nice and Saint-Étienne, timid, didn’t offer much, if anything at all. Football fans were far from satisfied at the end of those first forty-five minutes.
The referee played the main role in this first half. Because Benoît Bastien had not sanctioned young Kanté after his controversial shoulder blow on Boudaoui. The match’s refereeing remained equally unperturbed over another delicate situation. On a Nice corner, Lucas Stassin’s high foot came close to Kojo Peprah Oppong’s head. Not enough to warrant a VAR intervention.
A timid OGC Nice
If Nice’s play had been up to par in the Cup final, it wasn’t the case tonight in this first leg playoff. Claude Puel’s players lack cohesion, technique and creativity to be dangerous in front of the Greens’ goal. It was almost as if you wondered whether OGC Nice was playing for its place in Ligue 1 in these two matches. Because the behavior and body language of some didn’t exude confidence or serenity, like this hidden backpass from Ali Abdi that turned into a gift corner for ASSE. From the set piece that would have been enough, Boakye’s volley flirted with Diouf’s crossbar.
Nice chains technical errors and opens up more at the back. Fortunately for Gym, their opponent tonight doesn’t possess a much higher level of football. The substitutes brought on by Claude Puel bring nothing, from Kevin Carlos to Isak Jansson, via an Abdi still not comfortable in that winger role that doesn’t suit him. It must also be said that the numerous stoppages didn’t help get this match going.
Nothing is decided yet in this playoff
This ASSE – OGC Nice will certainly not go down in legend, and will even be quickly forgotten in the history of French football. Because no team will ever have been able to win, or offer football worthy of a Ligue 1 team. Tonight, the best red and black opportunity was a Clauss free kick – over the Saint-Étienne goal – in the 25th minute of play. The Eagles, like the Greens, missed this first leg. Everything remains to be played in this two-legged tie.
The return match of this playoff this Friday, May 29th. The match will take place at an Allianz Riviera behind closed doors, following the incidents that occurred after the match against Metz (0-0). Without the support of its fans, Gym has only ninety minutes left to save its place in Ligue 1. Kick-off for the match at 8:45 PM for what will be, come what may, the last match of the sad 2025/26 season for the Eagles.
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