OGC Nice vs. Lokomotiv Moscow (2-3): Nice Scuttles Itself

Arch-dominant in the first half, shaken and reduced to 10 men in the second, the Gym suffered a painful defeat in their first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 (2-3). They will need to pull off a feat in Moscow, in a week’s time, to continue their European adventure.

45 minutes of happiness and a horrible headache: one could hardly summarize this first leg more objectively. Superior in all areas during the first half, the Niçois made the mistake of not securing their position, conceding a goal before the break, and ultimately, their opponent came back full force. Cold and harsh like a bad winter evening.

Thanks to a brace from the great Mario, things seemed to be well on track. And goodness, the locals made their visitor suffer during this first quarter of the two-legged confrontation… Goodness, how they toyed with him, trampled on him, and battered him. But like a boxer, he stayed on his feet, before winning this first match on points.

Set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Marlon on the right, Cyprien as the pivot, and Saint-Maximin on the flank, Nice initially did everything better than an opponent who seemed to lack rhythm. They won all their duels, maintained possession more effectively, showed more bite, and posed a constant threat. On his return, Saint-Maximin even put Vitali Denisov, his direct opponent, through a nightmare, forcing his coach to substitute him at halftime…

With space ahead of him, number 7 worked wonders at the Allianz. Early on, he took advantage of a long ball from Dante, on which the Russian defender hesitated, to win his first duel of the match, bide his time, and finally provide a perfect lay-off for Balotelli. The Italian titan, true to himself, couldn’t let the opportunity pass, and found the back of the net on his first chance (1-0, 3’).

Behind this advantage, his team pushed to crush the leader of the Russian championship.

The Italian forward – as always – cut in from the left towards the center, found Guilherme’s gloves (12’); Dante missed hitting the target with his head (19’); Saint-Max continued his siege on Denisov, and eventually, the lead was doubled with a feint of a shot by Mika Seri. In the opponent’s area, the Ivorian metronome completely outclassed the defenders and took his chance with his left foot: Pejčinović deflected with his hand, and Balotelli converted the penalty for his brace, without trembling (2-0, 28’).

With their visitor in the ropes, the men from the Côte sought to press their advantage before halftime. They attacked from all sides, played perfectly in midfield, and quickly found their wings. But Plea was twice thwarted by the Russian goalkeeper (31’, 39’) and he overhit a perfect cross from Saint-Maximin (35’). All this happened before the unfortunate goal reduction by the Railworkers (2-1, 45’) following an excessive commitment by Sarr, who conceded a penalty. Fernandes converted it (2-1, 45’), just after seeing an Aleksandr Miranchuk volley hit Benitez’s crossbar.

COLY SENT OFF

The Railworkers returned to the field with different intentions. Yury Syomin made two significant changes: Rybus replaced V. Denisov on the left, and Farfan took Kolomeytsev’s place – a defensive midfielder – to bring life and vigor. The changes paid off, as the debates became balanced and increasingly tilted eastwards. Mario missed the target with his head after another superb movement by the former Bastia spearhead (54’), Benitez punched away a Rybus strike (60’), Super Mario – assisted by St-Max – saw his shot deflected by a magnificent save from Guilherme (66’), and everything became more difficult. Following this, Ari broke away alone towards the goal, was slightly destabilized by Coly who sacrificed himself for the team. The Senegalese got a direct red card (67’), and adding insult to injury, Manuel Fernandes, reputed as the star of his team, placed a perfect free kick, out of Benitez’s reach (2-2, 69’).

From then on, the Gym suffered. Suffered. Benitez (72’) and Dante (74’) delayed the impending result, but the team eventually cracked. In an unfortunate action where, once again, a refereeing decision went against them. Anton Miranchuk controlled the ball with his elbow, in the box, served Fernandes who opened his foot, for the hat-trick (2-3, 77’).

Lucien Favre’s men didn’t concede any more goals, which, despite everything, keeps hope alive.

And if football remains so beautiful, it’s precisely because the impossible sometimes happens. For that, an exploit will be needed…

REACTION FROM LUCIEN FAVRE

“We had a very good first half. It could have been 3 or 4-0. But we didn’t capitalize on these chances. We lost one or two dangerous balls against a team that’s formidable offensively. The penalty one minute before halftime is delicate… At that moment, we were leading 2-0, feeling like we were dominating the match. We had already had a warning with a Lokomotiv shot hitting the bar. Our midfielders need to close down much faster to prevent them from getting around our goal. For the penalty, we needed to remain calm, it’s a mistake. It’s a very strong team in tight spaces, they play on the ground, quickly. We needed to stay calm and avoid such fouls. However, we cannot say it’s the turning point of the match. We receive a red card on a corner for us. We make too many tactical errors, it costs us dearly. But that’s the harsh law of football. We must recover from this for sure. It’s a match we should have settled by halftime. Along with the 2 goals, we have 3 or 4 big chances. There are things to say to the team to get back into it for the return leg. Meanwhile, there is another championship match to prepare for.”

REACTION FROM PIERRE LEES-MELOU

“I don’t understand this turnaround. We delivered a comprehensive first half, we were dangerous with chances. And then, we’re scared to play, we retreat, and the match tipped. I haven’t reviewed the footage of certain actions but let’s stop hiding behind refereeing. We made mistakes that need correcting”, said the first speaker, disappointed but not downbeat. “The return match will be tough, but we qualified in Amsterdam against Ajax. We won’t go to Moscow as defeatists but indeed to play.”

REACTION FROM ALLAN SAINT-MAXIMIN

“I don’t have the words to explain this match. We already experienced a similar scenario against Marseille in the league. We thought we had learned that lesson. Once again here, we could have killed off the first leg with the ball for 3-0. Moscow got a penalty. And everything changed. The return leg will be difficult and complicated, but we know we can score.”