Minimum service for the Gym against Saint-Étienne, but enough to keep dreaming. Never worried, the Nice team moves forward.
Seventy-two made the trip. Of the three hundred expected, only seventy-two Saint-Étienne supporters filled the visitor’s stand at the Allianz Riviera. A step forward by the League, praised by OGC Nice and its supporters, as evidenced by the banner unfurled in the Populaire Sud: “Your freedoms beyond our rivalry.”
But the visiting supporters were not treated well by their team, despite a rather satisfactory start to the match. ASSE barely kept up appearances for a few minutes. In the 7th minute, Wylan Cyprien launched a rocket into Jessy Moulin’s top corner after a superb team action. The Saint-Étienne players are disheartened.
Nice then takes the lead. Belhanda (10th), Pléa (29th), and Cyprien (31st) fail to double the score, all while performing feats in midfield and executing precision passing.
However, the match almost turned just after the half-hour mark. Following a shot from Romain Hamouma, Dalbert sacrifices himself and stops the ball… with his face. The referee then whistles… a penalty, which triggers the fury of the Nice crowd and its players. Fortunately, the assistant referee clears Mr. Delerue, who reverses his decision. On the sidelines, Christophe Galtier protests vigorously.
The match becomes tense, and Belhanda receives a yellow card for exchanging words with Hamouma (35th). Then it seems there’s a bounty on Dalbert’s head, with two consecutive major fouls from Hamouma (38th) and Théophile-Catherine (39th), both outpaced by the Brazilian.
At halftime, the Gym is ahead. And, following the new Nice tradition after Mèfi or Nissa la Bella, the Aiglons stop playing in the second half. Saint-Étienne regains hope, but Cardinale stays vigilant (52nd, 71st). Roux and Hamouma miss their shots while, on the opposite side, Mounir Obbadi makes his first appearance. A satisfactory debut, which he punctuates with a superb pass to Belhanda, but off target (77th). Cyprien (79th), Pléa (81st), and Balotelli (89th) will meet with no success either.
The score does not change further, and the Gym remains close to Monaco, tied with Paris (52 points). The Aiglons take the opportunity to extend their lead to 16 points over their evening opponent. Enough breathing space before an intense end of season during which every point will be important.
The stat: 4
As the number of consecutive matches won by the Gym against Saint-Étienne. The Aiglons won the first leg (0-1, goal by Eysseric), while last year’s double confrontations ended with two Nice victories (1-4, 2-0).
Lucien Favre’s reaction:
“We entered this match with rhythm. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good. We scored a beautiful goal. We had several opportunities, it’s a shame not to make it 2-0. After that, a match can be long with just a one-goal lead. At 1-0, others can come back at any moment. We need to press high, reposition defensively well. There were dangerous situations for St Etienne even though we had more chances than they did. The second half was tougher, but ultimately, we got 3 points.”
Wylan Cyprien’s reaction:
“We noted a lot of positive points tonight, especially after the defeat in Monaco. We were not ridiculous there, but we lacked tactical discipline, we had unusual turnovers. We didn’t play our best match of the season tonight but we won, we hung in there. We will analyze the negative aspects to improve.”
Yoan Cardinale’s reaction:
“Every victory is beautiful. This one is especially important. It put us back on track after Monaco. We managed to regain confidence, and the confidence of the public, which is very good for preparing for the match against Stade Rennais. The team was very good, the whole collective was on point. It’s really a great performance. Today (Wednesday), we really got into the match well, we had a very nice first half. The 2nd was more about control than anything else.”
