After the last-minute victory against Troyes, the Gym traveled to Bordeaux, the bottom team of Ligue 1 with the worst defense in the championship’s history in a single season.
Right from the start of the match at the Matmut Atlantique, the nervousness and lack of confidence of the Bordeaux players were palpable.
The hottest actions of this first half were in favor of Nice and came from Bordeaux’s errors provoked by pressing from Nice.
It’s mainly on the left side that the Eagles were able to make the difference. It was the two scorers who could have opened the score, starting with Dolberg from the first constructed action by the Gym. It was Costil, a symbol of the crisis in Gironde, who made a poor clearance to Boudaoui. The Algerian passed to Dolberg, who had an open goal to score, but Mensah made a perfect move and saved the ball on the line.
Then it was Delort in the 22nd minute, who attempted a volley but once again encountered a well-positioned Bordeaux defender.
OGC Nice tried to inflict damage through crosses, but as often, it lacked precision and the scorers were rarely found. Nonetheless, it was evident that the Bordeaux defense was painfully lacking in confidence, with numerous passing errors and a significant lack of communication.
The Gym had control of the ball and faced no offensive threat from FCGB; every time they recovered the ball from Nice, they merely cleared it and did not focus on initiating a good counter-attack. The few counter-attacks they managed to build were insignificant, as only 2-3 players at most followed the movement.
Even though Nice appeared more dangerous by capitalizing on the lack of confidence and errors from the Bordeaux defense, their possession game was quite sterile with very little offensive play offered: only 5 shots, with just 1 on target.
Returning from the locker rooms, Nice held even more of the ball. The Eagles continued to seek their two scorers, and when found, could not hit the target.
It took almost an hour into the game to see the biggest chance of the match, and it came from a well-taken set piece by Kluivert. Delort headed it towards Thuram. At point-blank range, the hero from the match against Troyes headed the ball, but Costil made a superb reflex save.
Bordeaux played even more cautiously, with no pressing implemented. The only real offensive choice for Bordeaux was playing deep with Hwang, but he was rarely found.
At the hour mark, Christophe Galtier made numerous offensive changes that brought a new dynamic and more differences in attack.
Fifteen minutes before the end of the match, the Eagles finally found the breakthrough against Bordeaux’s solid block. As often, it was Delort who scored the goal. It started from a good combination on the left between Bard and Thuram, and Lacoux accidentally deflected the ball towards the Algerian international, who slotted the ball into the empty net (1-0, 74th minute). 0-1 for Nice.
After more than 75 minutes of offensive void, FCGB finally moved forward, again relying on Hwang’s deep runs. The Bordeaux players attempted several times, but Benitez was flawless (83rd-87th minutes).
In added time, it seemed like there might be a second goal for the Azureans from a counter-attack. Lotomba found himself in the area, managed to dribble several defenders, and shot, but the Swiss hit the post, Brahimi followed up, but completely missed his shot (90+3rd minute).
Second consecutive 1-0 victory for OGC Nice with this success in Bordeaux. More goals were expected from the Gym against the worst defense in the championship’s history, but Bordeaux closed down all spaces and focused on their defense. The substitutions at the hour mark energized Nice’s offensive play, leading to the only goal of this match thanks to Delort. This might make Galtier question whether Dolberg and Kluivert should really be starters instead of Gouiri and Brahimi.
With this victory, OGC Nice is fifth in Ligue 1.
