What is OGC Nice playing at towards the end of this season? Just hours before hosting Toulouse, OGC Nice is in full doubt. Lack of gameplay, surprising choices by the coach, loss of objectives, nothing is going right for the Aiglons. The need for victories and points is becoming increasingly pressing.
After the match against Guingamp, Claude Puel made his Mea culpa. Aware of having made a mistake with his tactical choices, he half-heartedly apologized. It’s worth mentioning that the Red and Black’s performance was disastrous. No opportunities, nonexistent play, and players performing poorly. One of the worst matches this season, if not the worst for the Gym.
Yet this week, the Azur coach changed his tune radically. While he acknowledged the poor performance, he primarily explained it by the state of the Guingamp pitch: “On such a field, we will always know the same difficulties. I aim to play the game and not to launch long balls forward. I will not change this way of playing.”
However, for several months now, Nice has had no structure in its play. Unable to create scoring opportunities, the Nice players struggle on the field, impermeable to the various systems put in place by the coach. In Brittany, the 4-4-2 diamond formation was tested, without much success. The players, uncomfortable and not accustomed to this tactical scheme, did not seem to embrace the system. The team is psychologically marked, unresponsive to adversity. It is difficult to enliven a game plan under such mental conditions. The problems remain the same: a fragile defense, deprived of several key players, and an attack lacking solutions symbolized by Dario Cvitanich’s inefficiency.
To this, new concerns are added. Claude Puel seems no longer to have a handle on his group. Benrahma and Maupay paid the price this weekend. Not called up for the match against Toulouse, the two young players will play with the reserve team. Incomprehensible considering the offensive problems of Nice. These two promising young players deserve game time in Ligue 1 to gain experience. In preparing for next season, Nice needs young players who are expected to be potential starters in the future. Does this decision by the coach, which resembles a sanction, hide tensions within the group? The regular selection of Grégoire Puel, struggling for months, also raises some questions in the locker room.
Against Toulouse, all these problems could resurface on the field. It is fair to say that the Nice team will not be in the best shape tonight at the Allianz Riviera. To defy the odds, Nice could rely on the grit of its coach and the support of a loyal crowd despite the disappointments.
Let’s hope it’s enough…
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