Battered for almost the entire game, Nice found the resources to snatch a point on the pitch of the Reims stadium. All thanks to a penalty scored after… 99 minutes!
At the end of suspense, with sheer willpower, the Eagles gained a precious point at the Auguste-Delaune stadium. But it was tough…
Right from the kick-off, the Reims players pressed hard, suffocating the Eagles. It only took 12 minutes for the home team to break through the Nice defense. Set up by Romao, Rémi Oudin delivered a powerful shot that left Benítez with no chance (1-0, 12th minute).
After the goal, Nice tried to respond but without success. Burner (38th) and Dante (43rd) created the only chances for Nice, while on the other side, Oudin and Kamara made repeated attempts to widen the gap.
VAR (AGAIN) TAKES CENTER STAGE
Returning from the break, the Gym showed more initiative. Atal crossed to Ganago, but with no success (50th). On the other end, Chavarria saw his shot saved by Benítez (64th).
The match nearly took a turn for the worse for the Gym when Cafaro doubled Reims’ lead (69th), but the VAR annulled the goal due to an offside position by Chavarria.
Luck seemed to favor Nice then, who pushed harder. Cyprien and Saint-Maximin tried their luck, but without success. In injury time, the Gym came very close. A brilliant effort by Cyprien almost hit the mark (90+1st).
The match turned on a corner, at the end of injury time. Youcef Atal’s header was blocked by Kamara’s hand. The game continued. But the referee was alerted by the video assistant. The VAR once again came into play. Just like in Monaco, it awarded a penalty to the Gym. As the seconds ticked away, Rémi Walter took the responsibility to shoot. And it’s in! (1-1, 90+9th).
The Gym leaves with an almost unexpected point but is rewarded for not giving up. A mindset that could carry the Eagles towards a promising streak…
PATRICK VIEIRA’S REACTION
“You could say it’s a point that fell from the sky. We played a very, very average game. I think the organization we had at the start of the match didn’t allow us to express what we wanted to implement. Tactically, I might have put the team in difficulty, we endured too much. We were off pace, it was our third match in a week. We struggled physically. We were not good at all, I acknowledge that. Even in terms of mindset, I thought we were off. They wanted it more than us, we lost quite a few duels and second balls. Leaving here with a point, I think the Reims players can be very disappointed. This result satisfies me, especially when I see the content of our match.”
RÉMI WALTER’S REACTION
“You shouldn’t be shaken, but we are trained for this. It’s in: so much the better for me but especially for the team. We were lucky with their second goal being disallowed. We suffered throughout the match, but we managed to come back in the score, which will help us move forward. The important thing is to bring back a point. We have confidence in what we are capable of doing. It’s the team effort that will make the difference.”
