OGC Nice earns a 0-0 draw against Reims this Saturday, temporarily climbing to tenth place. After a dull match and a festival of inaccuracies, the Eagles stop their streak of two consecutive Ligue 1 defeats. In terms of gameplay, Nice is far from reassuring.
There are nights when everything falls into place and then there are nights when nothing happens. That was the case this Saturday evening, in a special atmosphere with part of the Brigade Sud “parked” in the visitor stand despite the late decision by the French Football Federation. OGC Nice wanted to start a new series, to reassure themselves, but after this performance, doubts remain.
With six players absent, Claude Puel had very few options for his starting eleven. Kévin Gomis was preferred over Souleymane Diawara, and Grégoire Puel replaced the suspended Lloyd Palun in defense. Up front, Niklas Hult made his comeback and shared the midfield with Valentin Eysseric, who took advantage of Carlos Eduardo’s minor injury.
Right from the start, the Eagles were caught off guard. It took a great save from Hassen on a strike by Devaux and then an unorthodox stop to deflect De Préville’s shot (3rd minute, 0-0). The first Nice attempt came in the 9th minute by Pléa, without posing any threat to Placide. Twice, Dario Cvitanich had the chance to open the scoring but missed his one-on-one and saw his header go over the Reims goal (15th and 20th minutes, 0-0). The rest of this period? Nothing but numerous contacts and countless missed passes. The Nice players were booed as they headed to the locker room by the Allianz Riviera crowd.
“We haven’t had convincing results lately […] it’s part of the game. But the day we win two or three matches, there will be support behind us. What counts is staying focused on ourselves,” explained Claude Puel at the end of the match on the club’s official website.
The second half began with an incredible miss by Grégory Bourillon, who took advantage of a scramble in the box. The Stade de Reims midfielder opened his foot too much, allowing Nice to breathe a sigh of relief. As evidence of the dismal show offered by both teams, the crowd chanted: “We’re bored! We’re bored!”, a first this season. Aside from the Reims action in the 49th minute, nothing else happened except for tackles, yellow cards, and an uncountable number of lost balls. In the end, Nice had 12 shots with 3 on target, while Reims had 11 shots with only 2 on target.
“Even though we would have preferred to take all three points, we gave it our all, and that’s what matters to me. I don’t want to focus on the negatives. You have to know how to take a point when you aren’t at your best, and that was the case tonight,” concluded the Gym coach.
Before Sunday’s matches, Nice sits in 10th place in the standings with 18 points, five points ahead of the first relegation spot, Evian. The situation could become more tense next week after their away match against the undefeated leader and current French champion, Paris Saint-Germain.
Photo credit and more information at www.ogcnice.com
