Despite a promising first half-hour, OGC Nice suffered a defeat in their first outing of the season. Blame it on adverse winds and poorly navigated turning points. Monaco wins 2-1 and starts well, despite some imperfections.
When Valère Germain appeared in front of Andrea Raggi to open the score in the seventh minute, Nice seemed ideally launched. Perfectly served by Alassane Pléa who delivered a superb low cross, the striker on loan from Monaco confirmed Nice’s dominance at the beginning of the match. Moreover, the princely club was slow to react. The few set pieces earned by Moutinho and his teammates were poorly executed, and the offensive inspiration glimpsed during preparation was missing. After a quarter of an hour, the Nice team even had 60% possession. Everything was going well for the red and blacks.
Jardim quickly decided to make a first substitution. Only 25 minutes after kickoff, the young Pasalic was sacrificed in favor of Bernardo Silva. The young Portuguese player made a difference. In the 32nd minute, he lunged for a diving header from a left-side cross by Martial, which went wide despite Dirar being close to following up.
However, the revival wasn’t enough, and the Monaco coach did not hesitate to make another substitution as early as the 42nd minute. This time, El Shaarawy came in. He had an excellent second half, undeniably a winning choice, but his appearance wasn’t the real turning point of the match. That came at the 45th minute when Boscagli was sent off for a second yellow card. Two rather substantial fouls led to the logical dismissal of the 17-year-old player.
Is the El Shaarawy gamble already successful?
The few seconds remaining in the first half didn’t change the halftime score: 1-0 for Nice. But the crowd understood it well with a rather impressive clamor; the rest of the match would be very different. Monaco immediately picked up the pace but almost got surprised as early as the 47th minute. At the end of a superb movement in the box between Plea and Mendy, Valère Germain didn’t strike his shot strongly enough to beat Subasic. The new eagle (who otherwise had an interesting match) could only blame himself, and his team would pay for it.
Narrowly avoiding big trouble, ASM finally woke up inspired by an impressive El Shaarawy. Involved in all the good plays, the Italian striker was on fire on his left side and caused disruptions in the center and on the right when he swapped positions with his teammates. Technically very skilled, quick and not selfish in the slightest, the pharaoh knew when to penetrate, release the ball, or launch a sharp run. And he did it well. Pressing at the start of the action for the first goal, he disrupted Hatem Ben Arfa, who unintentionally passed the ball to Martial on the move. The young French forward set up Bernardo Silva in the center, who found himself one-on-one with Hassen. A simple cross strike, and Monaco tied the game at the 51st minute.
Monaco raises the stakes
With 11 against 10, better prepared and especially spared from injuries, the Monégasques took control. With only one substitution available for the end of the match, the red and white team couldn’t complain. Claude Puel had no more resources, with Mathieu Bodmer and then Simon Pouplin having to leave on Nice’s side due to physical issues.
Nice then attempted some counterattacking plays, but Germain (54th) and Pléa (57th) found themselves too alone up front. Without pushing too hard, Monaco eventually scored a second goal just after the hour mark. From a perfect cross by Fabinho, El Shaarawy mishit his return. The ball bounced very high, into Kurzawa’s head, who won his duel against Hassen and scored with a header, in two steps, after a rebound off the bottom of the crossbar.
Three minutes later, El Shaarawy almost increased the lead with a brilliant scissor kick deflected for a corner by Hassen. The same striker saw the same success for the goalkeeper in the 78th minute after a well-curved low shot towards the left corner of Nice’s goal. The last chance for the Allianz Arena residents, in the 90th minute with a lob pass from Germain to a Plea who was too short to finish, changed nothing. Nice fell in their opener with a bitter taste in their mouths.
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