Nice bat Rennes 5-2 avec un triplé d’Elye Wahi

OGC Nice defeated Stade Rennais 5–2 at the Allianz Riviera during the ninth round of the Ligue 1 season, powered by a hat-trick from Elye Wahi, Foot Mercato reported. The win lifted Nice to seventh place in the league table with 14 points, two points behind their opponents from Rennes.

An Animated First Half and Defensive Struggles

Before the match, Rennes stood second in the standings as the league’s best attack, while Nice aimed to close in on the podium. The visitors shaped up in a 3-5-2 formation with Dia and Al-Tamari in attack, while Lemaître started in goal in place of Samba. Olivier Pantaloni’s Nice side opted for a 3-4-3 where Diop and Amoura surrounded Wahi on the front of the attack. It was nonetheless without their captain Axel Witsel, absent at the last minute due to a left hamstring muscle discomfort, and without Alidu Seidu, not authorized to play as he was on loan from Rennes, that Nice began. But their young substitutes Djibril Coulibaly and Junior Mandza, aged 17, quickly stepped up.

The encounter quickly came alive when Lemaître brought down Wahi in the box, allowing the striker to open the scoring from the penalty spot in the 12th minute. Rennes responded immediately when Nagida delivered a cross to the back post for Szymanski, who equalized with a header in the 15th minute. Defensive vulnerabilities continued to plague the visitors as Rongier fouled Clauss in the area, leading to a second penalty converted by Wahi in the 35th minute. Just before halftime, following a turnover by Rouault, Clauss drove forward and scored with a powerful strike to give Nice a 3–1 lead.

Wahi Completes His Hat-Trick

Rennes made changes at the break, but Nice extended their lead when Boudaoui supplied Amoura, who navigated past Aït-Boutlal to score low past Lemaître in the 54th minute. Rennes briefly found hope when Al-Tamari won a penalty off Nkounkou, which Dia converted in the 58th minute to make it 4–2. An apparent goal by Nagida was subsequently disallowed for offside.

Any potential comeback was extinguished when Nagida lost the ball to Hein, allowing Wahi to fire in his third goal of the match without control in the 73rd minute. The 5–2 victory marked Nice’s third home win and their first match with five goals scored since a 6–0 win against Brest on May 17, 2025.

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