Ligue 1: valuable victory for OGC Nice on Brest soil

For this 10th day of Ligue 1, OGC Nice faced Stade Brestois away. Two teams with European ambitions, whose schedule for the coming weeks will be busy. 

With 13 points each before this new day of the championship, Nice and Brest are experiencing a challenging season. It’s not easy to combine the national championship and European competition for these two teams. Especially with three matches in one week, their limited squads will once again be put to the test! In terms of lineup, it’s the usual setup.

In the first half, Nice dominated but were ineffective in front of the goal. Brest seemed timid despite several attempts by Pierre Lees-Melou and Ludovic Ajorque, who were stopped by Marcin Bulka. The Eagles’ goalkeeper delivered an impressive performance tonight by making multiple decisive saves, including one on a dangerous header from Ludovic Ajorque (49th minute).

The Ali Abdi Show 

Arriving this summer on the French Riviera from Caen, Ali Abdi has established himself as a key player for OGC Nice. He caused numerous problems for the Brest defense by exploiting the spaces left on the right flank. In the 20th minute, Ali Abdi showed danger, but his first attempt missed the target. Shortly after, on a pass from Mohamed Abdelmonem, he outmaneuvered Kenny Lala with a superb chest control before assisting Mohamed-Ali Cho in the back, who had only to score. This goal was eventually disallowed by VAR for offside (36th minute).

This setback did not slow down the Tunisian international. A few minutes later, left alone, he crossed to Evann Guessand at the far post. The Nice striker lunged to score his 6th goal of the season, logically opening the score for the Eagles just before halftime. 

Nice finally wins (1-0) after a final save by Marcin Bulka on a header from Pierre Less-Melou (89th minute) and climbs to the provisional 5th place in Ligue 1. 

A victory that delights the Gym coach: “We had a very good first half even though the start was a bit tricky. After that, we really controlled the game with excellent ball movement.”

Now, the OGCN is set to meet the Europa League on Thursday as they host Twente at 6:45 PM.