Once again, one couldn’t dream of a better scenario. Emerse Faé and Loïc Rémy had done a good part of the work by converting two chances, allowing their team to lead 2-0 half an hour into the game and even at halftime with a return to the locker room with a two-goal lead on the scoreboard. The Nice team was certainly troubled by a well-organized Le Mans side, with Stromstad and Le Tallec pushing to try to reduce the score before the coach’s talk. It was a futile effort, and Yves Bertucci’s men indeed entered with a two-goal deficit under the presidential stands of Ray.
One might think it got off to a good start, but the recent memory of Lyon suggested that anything could still happen, and it didn’t take long as just five minutes after the second half’s resumption, Coutadeur took charge of a free-kick. His ball moved within the Nice defense, Ben Frej fought with Hellebuyck. The Nice defender deflected the ball, and Letizi, caught off guard, could only collect the ball from the back of his net.
The Le Mans players did not rest on their laurels and continued to press the Nice defense while Bamogo and Mouloungui, after being noticeable in the first half, were curiously absent from the debates. Coaching changes followed on both sides, with Bertucci replacing Stromstad with Gervinho and Le Tallec with Lamah, while Antonetti sent in Cid and Modeste in place of Bamogo. Minutes passed, and Nice found no solution, and it was even Le Mans that appeared dangerous with a cross from the right by Ben Frej finding Maïga’s head, which then found the post of Lionel Letizi. Unfortunately for Nice, the new entrant, Belgian Roland Lamah, picked up the ball to score his team’s second goal.
With just 5 minutes left to play, neither team dared to expose themselves for fear of ending with a perhaps more unjust defeat for Le Mans than for Nice. Ultimately, the score remained unchanged, and Anthony Gautier blew the whistle to end a match that wouldn’t be noted in the annals of Nice football. The lessons from these last two matches remain, celebrating a prolific attack while contemplating the issues preventing the Eagles from holding onto a result. Next stages: Rennes, followed by the hosting of Sochaux, then two prestigious matches in Monaco and at Ray against the Girondins de Bordeaux. Still tied at fourth place with Le Mans, Bordeaux, Paris Saint Germain, and Grenoble, OGC Nice remains in a positive dynamic and might even imagine better if Professor Antonetti finds the magic potion allowing his protégés to continue scoring as many goals without continuing to concede them. Ah, the alchemy of modern football!!!
Discover the [post-match reactions](https://www.ogcnice.com/actualite/news.php?clef=4990).
