The Auxerre team came with the firm intention of not conceding any goals and was very cautious in the first half, with Sorin starting off by punching out a good cross from Rool with both fists. The Nice players seemed in good form despite Tuesday’s match, and Rémy was proving to be a handful much to the chagrin of his bodyguard Grichting, who was in for a difficult evening. The Burgundians managed to raise their game after the first quarter of an hour and Kitambala, well set up by Mignot, found himself alone in front of Ospina who had well left his goal to narrow the angle; however, the Auxerre player then found Lejeune who completely missed his finish in front of an open goal. The storm had passed, and Nice was once again on the offensive. Modeste made Sorin shine with a beautiful left-foot shot that forced the Auxerre keeper to stretch fully to deflect the ball into a corner. Then, taking advantage of a slip by the unfortunate Grichting, the Nice striker found himself alone in front of Sorin but his attempt ended just beside the Burgundian goals. Stéphanne Lannoy would send the two teams back to the locker room on a fair and goalless draw.
The second half started with a change for Nice, with Modeste making way for Bamogo. The Eagles immediately settled into the Auxerre half and what was bound to happen, finally did. Following a corner taken by Hellebuyck, the Auxerre defense struggled to clear the ball which ended up at the feet of Rémy. The Nice striker tried once but Sorin, alert, pushed the ball to Mouloungui who found his teammate Rémy again; this time leaving no chance to the opposing goalkeeper by driving his shot under the crossbar to score his 7th goal of the season. The goal warmed up a stadium chilled by a somewhat uninspiring first period and really set the Nice team off, who proceeded to play a much sharper game. New coaching move by Frédéric Antonetti, who brought in Traoré to replace Mouloungui about fifteen minutes from the final whistle. Nice continued to press but Sorin was vigilant, deflecting another attempt by Bamogo. Rémy fooled Grichting once more but, unfortunately, the curled left-foot shot from the Nice striker found nothing but the angle of Sorin’s goal. The end of the match was approaching, and it was hard to see how Pedretti’s teammates, far from their best form, could come back.
The final seconds of stoppage time passed calmly when Faé sent Diakité down the right flank. The latter delivered a sharp low cross towards Bamago who, with his right foot, drove one last nail into Sorin’s coffin, bringing his tally to six goals. 2-0, the match was definitively settled, and Nice finally reconnected with a league victory after two months of drought with another effective coaching decision by the ever-pragmatic Frédéric Antonetti, “Tonight’s result is very positive. Regardless, we’re not focusing on the standings; we’re trying to concentrate on our play.”
[After-match reactions](https://www.ogcnice.com/actualite/news.php?clef=5315)
