This Sunday, Nice hosted Montpellier at the Allianz Riviera for the 23rd day of Ligue 1. The current last-place team hoped to taste victory again after three consecutive defeats. But the Eaglets left the Hérault team no chance and won the match (2-0).
OGC Nice was determined to maintain its 3rd place in the standings. Right from the start of the game, the players put pressure on the Montpellier defense. In the 12th minute of the game, Montpellier tried to respond with an indirect free kick from 23 meters. Savanier took it directly, and the game was then stopped when Santamaria took the ball full force. The Nice midfielder was bleeding from the nose following the impact.
At the half-hour mark, Clauss opened the scoring. The Nice team took the lead on their second opportunity. Found by Guessand in the penalty area, Clauss shot on the ground, and his ball rebounded off the post before entering the goal. The team of Jean-Louis Gasset remained ineffective until the end of the first half.
The Eaglets finish off the Montpellier team
OGC Nice was already on the offensive at the start of the second half. The Nice players were determined and full of will, putting pressure on the Hérault defense. Chances came one after another, and Laborde succeeded with an acrobatic move to shake off Kouyaté. The former Lens player thought he could challenge Lecomte further, but a foul was eventually signaled against him for a high foot. The Nice forward smiled as he passed by the Montpellier defender.
It was not until the 65th minute that Boudaoui doubled the score. Following a double change by Nice, the Montpellier team faltered. Guessand took advantage of this to race down the right side and served Cho a point-blank shot. The latter was blocked, but Laborde recovered and gifted a goal to Boudaoui at close range. Without flinching, the Azurean midfielder sent the ball, on the ground, into Lecomte’s goal. A final scare surprised the players of Franck Haise two minutes before the end of added time. Junior Ndiaye hit the crossbar with a diving header in the box, hoping to reduce the gap with the header, but it was Bulka’s high post that deflected the ball. Nice managed to scrape through this situation.
Nice remains on the podium
The red and black team won by two goals against Montpellier on Sunday, at the end of a second half that was a bit less one-sided than the first. The Hérault team had to wait until the last moments to become threatening, but they were a bit less troubled upon return from the lockers by the Nice players who were more in control. In the standings, this third consecutive victory allows OGCN to regain 3rd place. They are two points ahead of Lille (4th), three ahead of Monaco (5th) and three points behind OM (2nd). Montpellier remains in last place, seven points behind Reims (15th). The next meeting is in Saint-Etienne on March 1st for our Eaglets.