But this was without counting on that devil Pieroni, omnipresent both on the field and in the Nice penalty area, who, after soaring above the red and black defense, delivered a masterful header leaving no chance for Hugo Lloris, who, like his teammates, could only observe the damage done. The Nantes mass was spoken, and the last efforts from Nice remained futile, thus placing OGC Nice in an undesirable 19th position, trailing by three points behind Paris Saint Germain, who are facing relegation.
“When you’re playing to avoid relegation, it’s one moment laughing, the next moment crying. Tonight, we are the ones crying, maybe next week we will laugh.” Frédéric Antonetti, the coach of the red and black home team, played down this latest misstep while still emphasizing the commando spirit he had asked for during the break. On the player’s side, the new arrival, Lilian Laslandes, delivered a good performance for his first official match in Nice colors, while Rool and Ederson were undoubtedly the best players on the Nantes field. A cruel disillusionment for the strike duo Vahirua and Koné who failed to raise their game level to take advantage of the aerial flicks from the Bordeaux recruit. Hugo Lloris, true to himself, had a clean game, being absolutely powerless on the goal by Nantes. Matt Moussilou, who entered the game late, could have ended his long and inefficient streak but the post of Fabien Barthez decided otherwise.
Unlucky, unhappy… indeed, a draw would have been logical over the course of this game, but the football gods have been as unsparing with Nice this year as they were last year, and it will take a hard grind during the next 18 days to hope to exit this elevator leading to the lower floor of Ligue 2.
The upcoming schedule is not the easiest yet with the arrival of Toulouse (24/01), all crowned with a victory over the Lyon giant (2-0), where Nice will head next (27/01). This will be followed by two home matches against Bordeaux (03/02) and Troyes (10/02) that must be won to hope for some respite before heading to Valenciennes (17/02) and hosting Lille (24/02). The series of six-point matches thus begins and the men of Frédéric Antonetti have a minimal margin for error that requires them, at the very least, to win all their home games.
In the meantime, the Coupe de France will have come through, and even though the trip to Montpellier (20/01) will undoubtedly be perilous, it could serve as a catalyst for this Nice team, which currently lacks the spark to shine again like in previous seasons.
