The young eagles smartly weathered the storm in the first half to then logically claim victory with a double from Cvitanich and a final goal by Bauthéac in the last minutes of the match. Claude Puel’s men continue their march upward in the standings and will travel to Evian next Sunday to confirm their good Breton performance.
At the beginning of the match, Frédéric Antonetti’s protégés showed they were there to play, although they had nothing to lose or gain at this late stage of the championship. It first took a good Ospina to thwart Diarra’s attempt after a few minutes of play, then on another try by Doucouré forcing the Colombian goalkeeper to use his fists. The Nice team rarely appeared dangerous, with Dario Cvitanich somewhat isolated in the heart of the Breton defense. The Azurés relied on set-pieces, but neither Civelli’s free-kick nor Digard’s corner found a receiver in the Rennes penalty area. With a scoreline of nil-nil, which seemed quite logical, Mr. Benoît Bastien led both teams to the locker rooms.
After the break, it seemed as though we were witnessing a different match, with the Nice team playing much higher and creating the first chances, such as Digard’s which made Costil shine. The effort was in vain because Diaz recovered the ball on the right side and delivered a superb cross to Pejcinovic, who flicked it to Dario Cvitanich. He sent the ball into the back of the empty net (0-1). In the Puel family, Claude, the father, substituted Grégoire, the son, with Romain Genevois, and another major setback hit the Bretons. After a hapless move by Mavinga that pushed Cvitanich out of bounds, a red card was issued by Mr. Bastien, reducing Rennes to ten men. As the game reached the hour mark, the Azurés sensed a potential advantage as they effectively managed the play by blocking the rare Breton incursions. Ngando replaced Diarra for Rennes, and Puel continued to vocally encourage his troops to stay vigilant.
Minutes passed, and OGC Nice tried to make some forays into the Breton area, eventually being rewarded with a justified penalty due to an involuntary handball by Alou Diarra. Cvitanich executed it, bringing his tally to 17 for the season, joining Nice’s serial goalscorer Robby Langers (1989/90 season) (0-2). Everything was going well for the young eagles, who were now content to manage the game, and the last change saw Bosetti replacing Cvitanich, who was heavily booed by the Breton supporters. It was a good choice by the Nice coach, as his young player perfectly found Bauthéac in the Breton area for the third Azurés goal (0-3). The game was effectively over, though a small shadow was cast over the day with the late match expulsion of Pejcinovic, who was the last defender. Sometimes it’s better to win 3-1 and finish with 11 men, but oh well…
OGC Nice returns from Brittany with three points in the bag and the feeling of a job well done. With such a victory, one can imagine that the week will be easier to prepare for Claude Puel, who will have to find a solution for the same trip next Sunday, heading to Haute-Savoie to face an Evian team in distress that needs a win to avoid risking its fate in the last two matches of the season.
So it’s up to Nice not to falter at Evian to best prepare for one of the matches that could be among the most important, if not the most important, in the club’s history by welcoming Olympique Lyonnais, who might come to play for their third place at Ray…
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