On the 26th day of the French championship, this Saturday, March 5th at the Ray stadium, Nice could only achieve a very weak draw (0-0) against a modest Lens, whereas a victory against a direct opponent would have meant a very important step towards staying up.
Clearly out of form, the Eagles delivered a lackluster performance, in stark contrast to the one shown in Saint-Etienne.
Eric Roy’s players are apparently the kings of unpredictability. The previous Saturday, few Nice supporters would have bet on their team’s victory in Saint-Etienne (2-0). Contrary to the run of play, the Red and Blacks played smartly by weathering the Forézien storm and capitalized on the few counterattack opportunities they managed to create.
Three days later, in Reims, in the quarter-finals of the Coup de France, Nice used more or less the same strategy. The difference was that the attack had been considerably rearranged (Mounier and Bellion were replaced by Mouloungui and Ben Saada). And especially, the Gym struck first, leaving the Rémois to tire themselves out on a defense that, although it faltered twice, at least had the merit of maintaining its composure. While everyone was patiently waiting for the end of extra time at 2 all, and penalties, Anthony Mounier’s entry and his vitality during the last ten minutes of the second extra time allowed his team to regain the advantage and thus qualify narrowly for the semi-finals.
Nice-Lens: a Saint-Etienne-Nice in reverse
In view of these two matches, the morale of the Ray spectators could only be high before receiving the Racing Club de Lens, 18th in the L1 championship and virtually relegation-bound. And yet, this Saturday, we witnessed what will remain for a long time the poorest spectacle from Nice since the start of the season at home (and ultimately even away).
It was as if we were watching the Saint-Etienne – Nice match for the second time. But this time, Emerse Faé’s teammates were green. Green with having created so few chances (one shot on target out of four attempts) and for not seriously threatening Lens keeper Vedran Runje. And those Lens players turned red and black: red with shame for not finishing their most dangerous actions, and black with bad luck to have come up against a great David Ospina, without whom the result would have been more problematic for Nice.
The Gym out of breath
This match came down to a matter of color. And the color that will define this match is gray, a dull and sad gray. At the same time, what else could one expect knowing that Nice had to play three matches in a week (including a 120-minute one). The players were inevitably exhausted, even if the coach rotated the squad.
Let’s hope that OGC Nice will show a completely different face next Saturday for the reception of AJ Auxerre, another competitor in the race for staying up. In any case, the players will have a week this time to recover their strength. Let them take advantage of it…
