Nice’s overall strategy this season is now well known: make as few mistakes as possible, and try to make the most of those of the opponents. The result was matches that were generally poor in chances, which ended with a victory for the Aiglons by one or two goals. This well-known scenario prevailed again this Sunday evening, as part of Nice – Rennes (2-0), which took place as part of the 11th day of Ligue 1.
At home, Francesco Farioli’s players therefore, as usual, demonstrated impressive defensive solidity, preventing their opponents from being dangerous, except on an attempt, through their aggressiveness and the density of their block. shy from Ludovic Blas (5th), a recovery from Benjamin Bourigeaud which forced Marcin Bulka to make a nice save (32nd) and a header from Amine Gouiri off target (77th).
Boga took advantage of Assignon’s passivity
At the same time, the people of Nice were cautious but also patient, ready to take advantage of the slightest approximation from Rennes. This finally came from Lorenz Assignon, who, in the heart of his area, passed through a cross from Terem Moffi, which allowed Jérémie Boga to recover the ball behind his back and score from near the right (1-0, 45th). The Franco-Ivorian did not celebrate his achievement, out of respect for Rennes, where he played on loan in 2015-2016.
Then OGNC’s second goal was the consequence of two errors from Rennais. First that of Warmed Omari, who hooked Evann Guessand at the entrance to his area, which caused both his expulsion and a very dangerous free kick. Then, in the process, it was Steve Mandanda’s turn to make a mistake, pushing back Sofiane Diop’s curling shot, which had hit the crossbar, into his own goal (2-0, 87th).
These two goals rewarded the overall domination of Nice, who, without monopolizing the ball (only 46% possession), shot on goal more often than Rennes (15 shots against 11). The Azuréens could also have scored through Hicham Boudaoui, who shot narrowly wide (12th), before coming up against Mandanda (47th). At the end of the match, the red card logically received by Youssouf Ndayishimiye (75th), after a violent tackle on Enzo le Fée, did not call into question this control. Thanks to this new success, the Niçois regain the lead in the French Championship, with one point ahead of PSG (runner-up), and two over Monaco (third).
