The match had started so well with a packed stadium, an electrifying atmosphere, and an early goal by Mounier just 5 minutes into the game. However, despite their evident determination, the Nice team eventually could not do much against a well-organized and disciplined Lyon side, who emerged victorious in this first match of the 2011/2012 Ligue 1 season.
From the kickoff, the eaglets took control of the game, and corners piled up for a Lyon team taken aback by the Côte d’Azur’s energy. It was on the third one that Mounier, well-positioned in the Lyon penalty area, sent the ball into the net past a helpless Lloris. The stadium erupted, and the scenario couldn’t have started better, especially as Eric Roy’s team charged again towards the Gones’ defense. It was precisely on a counterattack born from a Lyon interception that troublemaker Lisandro Lopez took the chance to equalize with a sharp shot that left Pejcinovic and Ospina stranded. Five minutes of joy, and everything had to be rewritten for Nice.
From then on, Bastos, Gomis, and Lisandro Lopez began asserting control over the ball, and the Lyon machine showed that their summer preparation had been greatly beneficial to their game. Despite a strong attempt by Mabiala that forced Hugo Lloris to shine in his former home, it was Rémi Garde’s men who this time pressed against the red and black defense, and the inevitable happened. Half an hour into the game, Kallstrom forced Ospina into a diving save with a beautiful strike, but the Côte d’Azur goalkeeper couldn’t secure the ball. Corner. From the corner kick, the Nice defense struggled to clear, and Gomis took advantage, using his right foot to make it 2-1 in favor of his team. A cold shower at the Ray, and concern even spread through the Nice stands when the post saved the Colombian guardian angel on a new corner and another Cris opportunity. Nice suffered but did not break when Stéphane Lannoy blew the halftime whistle.
After some pan-bagnats and pissaladières, things did not improve on the field with a second half again turning in favor of the visitors. Cissokho was unstoppable down his flank, delivering cross after cross to a Gomis fortunately out of form, much like Hellebuyck who penetrated the Lyon defense but nudged the ball slightly too far in the final meters, offering it to a Lloris who didn’t need to ask for more. The OL’s game was fluid and quick, and with a maximum of three or four passes, the players of President Aulas reached the edge of the Nice penalty box. We entered the last quarter of an hour with another free kick for Kallstrom’s left foot, which found his teammate Lisandro Lopez. The Lyon striker found Ospina in his way, but despite the Nice goalkeeper’s superb save, Gonalons silenced a Ray stadium that had regained energy for the last minutes of the match. Mouloungui had a chance to reduce the score, but the efforts made by the only true Nice forward didn’t allow him to take advantage of a great opportunity ultimately blocked by Cris. Bastos and Pied, who replaced Briand, could have worsened the scoreline and a difficult situation, but the score ultimately didn’t change for this first, rather logical, defeat of OGC Nice in the 2011/2012 Ligue version.
Certainly, the “Trezeguet, Trezeguet” chants heard from the South and North stands and up to the Honors highlighted an evening during which the presence of a true striker was sorely missed for an OGC Nice that nonetheless displayed some promising elements, which they will need to build upon next Saturday to avoid sinking… at Evian!
