We expected a clumsy Lille, but it was the lively northerners who managed to secure a draw at the Ray stadium, thanks to Mickaël Landreau’s exceptional performance. Without him, the Aiglons might have claimed the three points for victory. This bodes well ahead of their away match next weekend in Bordeaux, who are playing against PSG tonight.
Claude Puel knew that this match would not be as straightforward as football experts predicted after the Dogues’ defeat in Denmark and a return match next Wednesday in Lille. The Azurean coach decided to entrust the still silent attack’s front line to the young Alexy Bosetti for his first start in Ligue 1. Despite this, it was Rudi Garcia’s men who took the lead at the start of the match, with a lively Payet causing Delle trouble for the first time, although Delle easily stopped this attempt. We reached the first quarter-hour mark and the first spark for Nice came from the young Bosetti, who, well set up by Traoré, found himself facing Landreau and attempted a lovely chipped ball that the Lille goalkeeper deflected with a sumptuous save. A brilliant inspiration from the young Aiglon and an equally excellent intervention by the experienced Dogue.
And it didn’t take long for the northern guardian angel to make his presence felt again with a superb header from Bauthéac that Landreau cleared with his foot, replicating a similar feat just before the half-hour mark against Pejcinovic, whose attempt was also thwarted by the last Lille defender. It seemed the Niçois were on the right path, but they hadn’t counted on their former teammate Florent Balmont intercepting a too-soft pass from Civelli to set up Payet through the middle, who left Delle with no chance and opened the score somewhat against the flow of play.
Despite not being rewarded, the Aiglons pressed forward again and just before the hour mark won a wide free kick around twenty meters from Landreau’s goal. Bauthéac and Bosetti conferred, and after the former feigned a shot, the latter provided a precise cross to Pejcinovic, who was unmarked in the opposing six-yard box and decisively beat an impotent Mickaël Landreau. A well-deserved equalizer, and the Ray stadium once again made its voice heard until the final whistle of the first half, sending both teams to the lockers with the equal score.
During the break, Claude Puel replaced Anin with Meriem to bring some experience into the Nice midfield. Rudi Garcia opted to continue with his starting eleven, though he sent a large part of his luxury bench to warm up. The Aiglons kept pushing, and through a clear play starting with a nice exchange between Mériem and Bosseti—yet again him—and a superb service from the newcomer to Bauthéac, the Ray stadium was ablaze once more with a stretched strike from the neo-Niçois that rattled Landreau’s nets once more. Scoring two goals in one match, the thought crossed that Nice’s offensive “curse” might just be a memory. However, Rudi Garcia made his first change, replacing Bonnart with Digne. But the joy for the Azureans was short-lived as Sidibé, after a brilliant individual effort, equalized by scoring his first goal in Ligue 1. Everything was back to square one for Nice!
Substitutions continued as Dja Djedje was replaced by Bahoken for Nice, while Martin replaced Bruno for Lille. The Aiglons maintained their pressure, and the first corner from Meriem yielded nothing. However, on his second attempt, he found Civelli, who delivered a powerful header, but once again, Landreau produced a sublime save before Lille’s last substitution saw De Melo replace Roux. The locals pushed once more to win a good free kick at the edge of the northern goal area; Bauthéac took it and saw his powerful shot deflected by the wall. It seemed the Lille goalkeeper was caught off guard by the deflection, but once again, Landreau pulled off a little miracle, knocking the ball away with an unorthodox but timely save. It seemed the ball would not cross the northern goalkeeper’s line a third time, and despite a few rare and mostly harmless incursions from both sides, the two teams ended the match with a draw that both coaches, who are in search of stability and serenity before their upcoming matches, would find satisfactory.
The next rendezvous for Nice is in Bordeaux, hoping the Azurean vintage will…
Photo credit: www.ogcnice.com
