OGC Nice falls 1-0 at Parc des Princes after delivering one of its best matches this season. Largely dominated in the first half, the “Aiglons” (Eaglets) turned the tide after the break and deserved to come back with at least one point. A very positive match for the future.
Frustrating but encouraging. After such a performance, the “Aiglons” have a good foundation to finish the year 2014 well. Facing the defending French champion and current 2nd in Ligue 1, Nice showed character, virtues, and a strong spirit of rebellion. Admittedly, it wasn’t enough, but it could prove useful as soon as Wednesday for the reception of Rennes (7 pm) and later at Caen, against Saint-Etienne, and at Lens.
At the kickoff, Nice displayed an average age of 22.6 years, a risk when facing Paris-Saint-Germain, its stars, and its experience across the field. Similar to big games against Monaco or Lyon, Claude Puel had lined up a 4-2-3-1 formation with Plea at the forefront, Bauthéac-Eysseric-Puel in midfield, the young Mendy-Albert in the middle, and a classic defense.
As expected, right from the start, Paris puts itself in control of the ball. The Parisians would end with no less than 70% of ball possession at the end of this half. Nice defends rather low, with only Plea and Eysseric pressing to try and disturb PSG. But evidence of good tactical discipline, the first action of the match was by Nice through Plea, who recovered a bungled ball and shot into Sirigu’s arms (7th minute). The Parisian response was swift: Cavani fired wide, then Ibrahimovic hit the post (8th and 9th minutes). At the fifteen-minute mark, Lucas was sandwiched by Amavi and Genevois, with the referee logically pointing to the penalty spot. Ibrahimovic converted it even though Hassen dived the right way (15th minute, 1-0). It was the 6th goal in 5 matches for the Swede against the “Aiglons”. Nothing more until the 31st minute, and this solo raid by Lucas was well stopped by the red and black central defense. Towards the end of the half, Amavi, very prominent, worked well on the left side, crossed but Puel couldn’t finish. A return to the dressing room with this score of 1-0 and a good last quarter of an hour from the “Aiglons”.
“Despite the defeat, it’s encouraging. I hope we will use this match for the one against Rennes on Wednesday. We shouldn’t panic due to the lack of goals and must continue to work,” said Nampalys Mendy optimistically.
The second half starts like the first with numerous Parisian assaults without actually being dangerous. Paris controls the game but gets close to Hassen’s goal only rarely. Thanks to more accuracy in passes and aggression in duels, Nice managed to put Laurent Blanc’s men under pressure. At the hour mark, Cavani went down in the box after contact with Gomis, but Mr. Desiage did not blow the whistle. On replay, it was indeed a penalty… But the “Aiglons” kept pushing forward, notably with a header from Eysseric over the bar (52nd minute), a shot from Plea saved by Sirigu (68th minute), and a nice downward header from the latter after a good cross from Amavi (69th minute). In the 76th minute, Amavi took advantage of the Parisian defense’s passivity, but Sirigu was vigilant, marking the best chance of this second half. Two minutes later, again Amavi saw his header skim the post of the Paris goalkeeper. Puel, Eysseric, and then Hult tried their chances, to no avail.
“We were good on all fronts: possession, control. It’s in finishing our chances that we lacked something, with situations we didn’t exploit well. Given the match’s nature, we would have deserved to equalize,” explained Claude Puel on the club’s official website.
Nice falls 1-0 but has shown one of its best performances since the match won in Monaco. This very good hour of play, between the 30th and 90th minutes, will be useful for Claude Puel and his entire squad for a December that promises to be pivotal. The “Aiglons” can be proud of their performance despite returning empty-handed.
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