The day after Paris Saint-Germain’s victory against Nantes (2-1), Nice kept pace with the leader. In a balanced match against Reims, the Aiglons won (2-1), thanks to a somewhat lucky goal from Jérémie Boga at the end of the match. A new success which allows them to regain their second place in Ligue 1 once occupied by Monaco, after their victory on Saturday in Rennes (0-1).
Reims will have regrets
Given their first half, the Rémois may have some regrets. Facing the best defense in the championship, Will Still’s men did not really dominate but created the two clearest chances. Yunis Abdelhamid missed his volley from close range (33rd), just before Mohammed Daramy who went on goal pushed his ball too hard (35th).
However, the situation changed very quickly upon returning from the locker room. More enterprising, the Niçois found the fault thanks to Gaëtan Laborde, until then discreet, with a powerful strike from the left (55th). Forced to react, the visitors then unleashed the match, like Junya Ito’s attempt from the edge of the area, which smashed Marcin Bulka’s crossbar (67th).
Diouf’s costly mistake
The Champenois even ended up getting back together, thanks to their captain Abdelhamid, who climbed very high to victoriously recover, with a powerful blow of his helmet, a cross from Ito (78th, 1-1). But their joy was short-lived: on a seemingly harmless strike from Boga, Yehvann Diouf completely missed his save at ground level and let the ball die in his net (2-1, 82nd). Back in front, the Niçois then held on to the score until the end, pushed by their audience.
In the standings, OGCN (32 points) remains four points behind PSG, still firmly at the top of the championship, but is two points ahead of Monaco and six points ahead of Lille, the current 4th, before Losc moves to Clermont. A new victory in Le Havre next Saturday could therefore ensure that he gets onto the podium at mid-season. With 23 points, Reims remains in the race for Europe.
