OGC Nice swept aside Galatasaray (4-0) on Tuesday, despite the Turkish side being last season’s champions. The match was highlighted by the class of Hatem Ben Arfa and a notable performance from Micka Séri. In the second half, the young players performed well once again.
This OGC Nice team is not to be taken lightly. After a solid 2-2 draw against Besiktas, the red and black team took on another high-profile opponent. We’re talking about Podolski, the German world champion, Sneijder, the Dutch vice-world champion in 2010, Turkish internationals Altintop and Yilmaz, and even Chedjou, the Cameroonian international. Yet, Nice cruised through the match without really losing composure.
Not surprisingly, Claude Puel relies on a lineup that closely resembles what will likely start on August 8th against Monaco, a 4-4-2 formation that works as well offensively as it does defensively. The players from Nice are daring, as seen from Ben Arfa, Séri, and Germain, whose shots didn’t result in goals. The Gym could have opened the scoring, but Plea missed his one-on-one, and the Turks only really threatened on set pieces.
You have to wait until the second half to see the nets shake. A first goal for Nice came from a penalty by Hatem Ben Arfa, his first in red and black (56th minute, 1-0). He benefited from superb work by Boscagli on the flank, who was fouled by a Turkish defender. Then, the Eagles rolled forward, it must be said, with substantial help from a lethargic Galatasaray team. Valentin Eysseric, already a scorer against Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël, beat the Turkish goalkeeper after a fine counter-attack led by Maupay and Benrahma (70th minute, 2-0). Benrahma, fouled in the box, took his own revenge by converting the penalty (72nd minute, 3-0). Finally, Neal Maupay, reportedly leaving according to Nice-Matin, finished the job after a poor clearance by the Istanbul defense (80th minute, 4-0).
If you had to pick one player from each line, the very young Olivier Boscagli, 17 years old and club-trained, was impeccable both offensively and defensively. In midfield, Micka Séri proves match after match his technical quality and his desire to play forward. Up front, Hatem Ben Arfa is finding a very interesting level of play with his accelerations and vision of the game.
On Sunday night at Allianz Riviera, Claude Puel’s men will finish their preparations against another heavyweight, SSC Napoli, featuring Higuain, Hamsik, Mertens, and others. A prestigious match, reminiscent of last season’s friendly against FC Barcelona, which will serve to fine-tune the automatons already in place before the derby against AS Monaco on Saturday, August 8th, for the first day of Ligue 1.
Photo credit and more information at www.ogcnice.com
