By losing in Nantes to a beautiful goal by Adrien Thomasson (68th minute), Claude Puel’s men miss the opportunity to stay in the race for the European champions.
With this defeat, the Champions League is almost certainly slipping away for the Eagles, who are 5 points behind Lyon and Monaco with two matches left in the championship.
This season could still result in a qualification for the Europa League, the second in four seasons. Provided they bounce back next Saturday (9 PM) against Saint-Etienne, who will come to defend their qualifying place in the Allianz Riviera stadium, which is likely to be well-filled.
It was, therefore, an ultimately too quiet afternoon for FC Nantes, never really threatened by out-of-sorts Nice players. Michel Der Zakarian’s men showed more desire and determination: 19 shots compared to only 5 for the Eagles symbolized their superiority.
Moreover, they can also blame a bit of bad luck, illustrated by Emiliano Sala’s header hitting the Nice post (23rd minute), or Alejandro Bedoya hitting the woodwork twice. First, the post with a shot from the edge of the area (53rd minute) and then the crossbar after another straight-on attempt (58th minute).
The victory was a deserved reward for the Nantes team, who were much more involved than the Nice team, who will need to show a completely different face next Saturday at home to hope to open the doors to Europe for the next season.
