OGC Nice suffers a heavy 5-0 defeat at Saint-Etienne and still does not secure its position in the league. Non-existent from the first to the last minute, the players from Nice endured the attacks of the Greens, who are still aiming to play in Europe. Defensively, Nice is genuinely worrying. This is a real warning!
In Spanish, this is called a “manita.” Yes, five goals like the five fingers of a hand. This Sunday afternoon, Nice experienced its heaviest defeat of the season since the 4-0 loss at Marseille last August. But more importantly, the Eagles showed worrying technical deficiencies and a certain defensive apathy. Next Saturday (9 PM), against Lens, the public will be expecting a lot from a team that hasn’t won at its Allianz Riviera home since January 23 (against OM 2-1).
Right from the start of the game, the players from Nice struggled defensively. Fortunately, Mouez Hassen was having a great day, making a fingertip save on a shot from Clément (7th minute) and later making a crucial tackle at the feet of Hamouma (10th minute). In between, Papy Mendy saved a shot from Perrin heading towards the goal right on the line. A hard blow in the 12th minute, as Romain Genevois, the in-form player for the Gym, had to leave the pitch due to an ankle injury, making way for Kévin Gomis. It was from a set piece that the Greens logically opened the scoring. The Stéphanois captain, Loïc Perrin, forgotten by Jordan Amavi, headed fiercely past the Nice goalkeeper (1-0, 25th minute).
For Nice, Eric Bauthéac and Nampalys Mendy were active but too isolated. Shortly before the break, ASSE extended their lead through Jérémy Clément. The midfielder picked up a poorly cleared ball from the red-and-black defense near the area. His clear strike nestled into the bottom corner (2-0, 40th minute). A deserved result for Christophe Galtier’s men, who had been proactive from the start. Evidence of the poor first half performance by the Eagles is the 63% pass completion rate.
“We never got into the match. Simply put. At the beginning and in the second half, we tried a little bit. We weren’t in the duels, in the impact. We paid for it dearly. We didn’t have much hope playing like that. It’s a very poor performance for us today,” lamented Claude Puel.
There was little to no change after the break. Gradel, still alone, attempted to lob Hassen, but the Nice goalkeeper was alert (52nd minute). The players from Nice were suffocated by a vengeful Stéphanois team. Most of the time, the balls were lost around the midfield line, giving the Greens numerous chances. Nonetheless, the first real opportunity for Nice came after an hour of play. Alassane Plea recovered a ball in the box and struck, but Ruffier easily caught the ball (59th minute).
A few minutes later, Saint-Etienne drove the nail in with a third goal. Set deep by Corgnet, Erding easily bypassed Jordan Amavi and found the net with an inside post strike (3-0, 62nd minute). Corgnet could have further increased the score, but alone in the box, he headed over (78th minute). The Swede, Niklas Hult, spurred on a fightback, battled down the left, served Alexy Bosetti but shot with the tip of the foot (81st minute). On the following play, an excellent Gradel extended the lead. He took advantage of a good back pass from Monnet-Paquet and a panicked Nice defense to spin around and strike (4-0, 84th minute). And just before stoppage time, Monnet-Paquet added his goal. Tabanou outsprinted Palun and perfectly set up the green attacker, who beat Hassen with a top-corner strike (5-0, 88th minute).
The cup is full, with goals heavily weighing down the baggage. Claude Puel’s men have two matches remaining to bounce back and finally secure their league status. Depending on other results, even a point against last-place Lens on Saturday would finally ensure safety.
Photo credit and more information at www.ogcnice.com
