OGC Nice easily qualified for the round of 32 by defeating a timid Zulte Waregem team. Nice gives itself a little heartening boost.
A penalty expertly obtained following a perfect call. The shot was delivered with the inside of the foot, a bow in front of the South Stand (1-0, 4’).
A pass from another dimension by Mika Seri, a perfect cross from Alassane Plea, a well-timed run, and a double full of accuracy (2-0, 31’). Suspended in Caen last Sunday, Mr. Balotelli made a triumphant return to the starting lineup. With determination and efficiency, the bull from Brescia delivered in the area where his team needed him most. As a result, the Gym quickly felt lighter, even though the entire match became more intense as time went on. Two new but unconverted opportunities—Plea missed the target (9’), and Burner’s volley was not strong enough (13’)—made it seem like the evening would be serene. It was not.
Set in a flat 4-4-2 at kickoff, with a classic defense, Koziello and Seri in command, Burner and Lees-Melou on the flanks, and the Plea-Balo’ duo upfront, the Red and Black quickly took the lead before putting themselves in danger by trying to manage the game. True to form—formidable upfront and fragile at the back—Franck Dury’s team regularly appeared in front of the goal of an impeccable Walter Benitez.
Like in his last two outings, the South American goalkeeper was sober and confident. In the first half, he closed his angle well following a run by Leya-Iseka (24’), deftly stopped a header from Kastanos (36’), and relied on the returns of his defenders (Le Marchand from a Leya-Iseka shot, and then Souquet from a Hamalainen header) to keep his local goal untainted. At the start of the second half, a magnificent rush out to meet the same Leya-Iseka (52’), followed by a perfect double save—again against the former OM striker (56’)—helped maintain a comfortable margin. Still, it showed that minutes spent defending always feel much longer…
The second half was largely dominated by the players from Belgium, who sought to overcome their deficit vigorously. Leaning on their goalkeeper, the Gym tried to preserve the score but did not show the same mastery as in the first half. Back from injury, Mika Seri, the man who makes everything easier, understandably declined in performance.
By continuously avoiding playing the game, Nice indeed ended up putting themselves in danger 10 minutes from the end when the excellent Hamalainen unleashed a monstrous strike from 35 meters on a free kick (2-1, 80’). This time, Benitez could do nothing, and the atmosphere quickly gained a charge of bad electricity.
Adrien Tameze, who came on with fire in his legs, took charge of softening everything. Charging like a bull, the former V.A. player broke through the lines, entered the box, and found Bostyn’s top corner (3-1, 86’).
The people of Nice could breathe easily.
And the Allianz could celebrate: the first round of 16 in its history will take place at the beginning of 2018.
WORDS, WORDS…
Lucien Favre: It was very tough. We allowed them way too many chances. In the first half, they countered us too quickly. They have forwards who move fast. After the break, if Leya Iseka had made it 2-1 at the 60th, it could have been difficult for us. At the end of the first half, we saw that we were having difficulties. The problem isn’t concentration; that’s nonsense. We need to lose fewer balls. But I note that in the end, we did something very positive, and that’s good.
Arnaud Souquet: We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. In the first leg, though we won 5-1, we remembered the course of the match: 3-0 at half-time, 3-1, and then there was an action that could have hurt us. Tonight, we quickly led 2-0, and their goal, inevitably, made us doubt a little. But the most important thing is the qualification. Now we can focus on Lyon.
ROUND OF 16, INSTRUCTIONS
OGC Nice will be one of the 32 teams present for the Europa League round of 16 at the start of 2018. 24 teams come from the group stage (the top 2 from each group), and 8 are transferred from the Champions League.
FIRST LEG AT ALLIANZ RIVIERA ON 02/15
The draw, which will be held on Monday, December 11th, will determine the opponents of the Aiglons. By finishing in 2nd place, the Gym will face either one of the four best third-place teams from the Champions League or a winner of the Europa League group stage. However, it cannot be a French team or Lazio.
Finally, the Red and Black already know their schedule. They will host the first leg on Thursday, February 15th, before traveling for the second leg on the 22nd.
