Nice Beat Nantes: Ligue 1 Crisis Deepens

Yesterday summits, today survival. The day after the top-of-the-table clash between OM and Lens (3-1), Nantes and Nice faced each other in a match with very different stakes. Before kick-off, this duel was anything but obvious: two of the most irregular teams in the championship, who had already had to decide on penalties in the Coupe de France two weeks earlier (Nice had won). On the field, however, the debates quickly shifted to the side of Nice (1-4), already winners this week of their first European Cup match in three years.

In the first period, Beaujoire hosted the “Show Cho”, a show far from being unanimously appreciated in the Nantes venue, mainly yellow and green. Restless, unbalancing, constantly provocative against Cozza, the 22-year-old striker made his good start to the match a reality by scoring the first double of his professional career. He opened the scoring with a low strike from the left from 20 meters after good work from Clauss (16th, 0-1), then from the shin, helped by a hint of success, on a remote-controlled cross from Sanson (29th, 0-2). We will also note the good first half of Elye Wahi, silent in the stats, but influential and the origin of several good shifts.

Nantes’ victory against OM already seems far away

Still in strawberries, the Nantes defense conceded a third goal from Sofiane Diop, curiously left alone in the area (40th, 0-3). It is an understatement to say that the reduction of the gap by the returning Mostafa Mohamed, five minutes later, aroused the most total indifference in the stands. At the same time as the Egyptian striker thanked his Egyptian counterpart, many Nantes supporters expressed their anger against the management: “Get out of Waldemar and take your son with you”could be heard coming down from the stands.

After the break, the Canaries still came back with better intentions, but were not really rewarded. Mohamed had a huge goal situation (66th), then Clauss saved one on his goal line to maintain his team’s lead (67th). The scenario was all the more cruel as Tom Louchet scored the 4-1 goal on a deflected shot at the end of the match (90+3rd, 1-4). Despite several alerts in the second half, Nice therefore concludes its week with two victories and climbs to 13th place. Nantes is 16th and more than ever under pressure.