Without necessarily shining, the Gym secured a valuable victory against Lorient. For this, the Eagles once again relied on Super Mario Balotelli.
Between Mario Balotelli and OGC Nice, the Dolce Vita continues. The beautiful story, which began a month earlier, had a new episode this afternoon. In a sparsely populated Allianz Riviera despite the kickoff time (Sunday 5 PM), the striker was the spark that the Gym lacked for 80 minutes.
One and a half hours earlier, the Eagles paid a heartfelt tribute to René Marsiglia, who passed away a week earlier. The players gathered in front of one of the giant screens where a famous speech of the former Nice coach to his players, about his illness, was shown. A vibrant minute of applause followed.
Then it was necessary to regroup and get into the match right away. Lucien Favre once again opts for the 3-5-2, giving Koziello a rest and replacing him with Bodmer. Up front, Belhanda is positioned to support Balotelli, in front of Seri and Cyprien.
Lorient takes the initiative in the match, with winger Jimmy Cabot particularly lively on the right side. But it’s Nice that quickly opens the scoring (a local specialty) thanks to a superb effort from Ricardo on his right side. The Portuguese defender eliminates three defenders before unleashing a powerful shot that Benjamin Lecomte can only graze (1-0, 10th minute).
The first half is relatively balanced, with both teams responding to each other: Balotelli hits from afar (14th minute), Mvuemba responds (18th minute). In the 27th minute, a free kick from Seri is taken by Dante then Belhanda but does not trouble the Lorient goalkeeper. Nice remains solid, and Lorient mainly plays on the counter, against a well-structured defense. In midfield, everything goes through Bodmer. Among the full-backs, an excellent Ricardo surpasses an average Dalbert, probably tired from the series of matches.
Nice shakes and falters
Cardinale is hardly solicited, except for a shot in the 38th minute. He has a little more work in the second half when a free kick from Mvuemba just misses the target (48th minute). Then, following a poor pass from Sarr in the center, the Nice goalkeeper has to deflect a powerful shot from Cabot.
Despite two chances for the Eagles (a header from Balotelli in the 50th minute and a missed attempt by Seri in the 53rd minute), the defense retreats, and Lorient logically equalizes thanks to Benjamin Moukandjo, scoring the fourth of the five goals Lorient has this season (62nd minute).
Lucien Favre reacts, and Eysseric replaces Dalbert. Balotelli and then Eysseric miss the opportunity to give the Gym the lead again, and they come close to disaster on a corner, saved by Seri who deflects the ball onto the bar (72nd minute).
And Balotelli delivered the Gym…
Almost invisible until then, the Italian striker, well aided by the very good entrance of Alassane Pléa, shows more promise. He strikes a powerful free-kick just wide of the target (82nd minute), but he mainly concludes a superb collective move, set up by a Cyprien back-heel. After controlling the ball, Super Mario curls a wonderful shot into the top corner. The Gym can exult, regaining the lead without necessarily deserving it.
The end of the match is more tense, and the same Balotelli receives a second extremely harsh yellow card for getting a bit too close to Steven Moreira. The Italian had received a first yellow card for removing his shirt when he scored. A red card that triggered the anger of the stadium, even though Balotelli left the field to a standing ovation from the ecstatic Nice crowd.
Without being brilliant in play, the Gym benefits from a touch of luck that has so often eluded them in the past to snatch a valuable victory. This new win allows the Gym to remain unbeaten, and especially, with 20 points, to go into the international break comfortably. They’ll need it, especially with the reception of Lyon approaching swiftly.
The stat: 20
The number of points the Gym has after eight matches. It is the club’s best historic total, having never accumulated so many points in eight fixtures. It is also the second-best record in the era of three-point victories, behind Lyon, who had 22 points in eight matches in the 2006-2007 season.
Lucien Favre’s reaction:
We take it game by game. So far, it’s working well. We started the game well, scoring an unexpected goal by Ricardo. Then Lorient was better than us in keeping the ball, it was tough. Their equalizer was deserved. After that, I changed the system to one where we feel more comfortable but can’t maintain for 90 minutes. The guys started creating some good chances, but we faced some dangerous Lorient counters. We need to find the right balance. 8 matches, 20 points is magnificent. The philosophy is to look at it game by game, not to look too far ahead.
Ricardo Pereira’s reaction:
The goal is important because it helps the team at the start of the match. I’m happy for that. I received the ball, dribbled past a player, then looked if there was anyone to cross to. There wasn’t, so I decided to shoot… The match was very difficult. Lorient has good players, they challenged us. Fortunately, we won. We’ve played 7 matches in 21 days trying our best each time. It’s important to start well and take points, but the season is very long. The first place? We’re not thinking about that, we need to keep our feet on the ground. The championship is very competitive and difficult: there is still a lot to do.
