Nice is struggling to get rid of Nantes to consolidate its second place.

It’s a slap that surely did good. Since Strasbourg humiliated it (3-0) on its lawn on December 5, the Nice team has had four consecutive successes in Ligue 1. After Rennes, Lens and Brest, Christophe Galtier’s men have come to the end of Nantes, Friday January 14 in their enclosure of the Allianz Riviera, on the score of 2 goals to 1, thanks to an individual exploit of Khéphren Thuram, at the opening of the 21^e daytime.

With 39 points, Nice is thus carrying out a very good accounting operation: Nantes, author of a promising first part of the season, is relegated to 9^e position at ten points, and Marseille, third, will be obliged to beat Lille on Sunday evening to pick up.

However, this victory was laborious and acquired after a match controlled over certain periods only. Until the end, the Canaries also pushed to equalize, without success. We had to wait for a superb ride from Khéphren Thuram, who left his camp to beat Alban Lafont from the left after a stint with Amine Gouiri (2-1, 56^e), to see the Red and Black regain the advantage and win.

Arranged in 5-4-1 with the only Randal Kolo Muani at the forefront, Nantes had, at the start, the objective of waiting as a block and countering. Despite a good start from Nice, it quickly almost worked following poor control from Dante. Kolo Muani took the opportunity to steal the ball from the Brazilian central defender. But that was without counting on the good return of the ghost Jordan Amavi, holder with Nice for the first time since his departure from Aston Villa in the summer of 2015. And especially on the solid outing of Walter Benitez at the feet of the Nantes player (16^e).

Dolberg’s second goal of the year

With more than 70% possession, the Aiglons did not stop attacking. They were logically rewarded when, for his debut in Ligue 1, Abdoulaye Sylla, 21, countered with his hand and in the area a header from Dante at the far post, on a corner from Justin Kluivert (20^e). Kasper Dolberg took the opportunity to penalize Nantes and score his sixth goal of the season in the league, his second in two matches in 2022 (1-0, 21^e).

On the other hand, the Danish international, who turned around, was at fault in the Nice wall, during the equalization from a free kick by Andrei Girotto just before the break (1-1, 45^e). It is especially the big fault of hand of Benitez which allowed Nantes to return to the locker room on this equalizer.

After leading, Nice had stopped playing in the first period, causing the frustration of the southern coach, Christophe Galtier: ” It’s annoying to see such a looseness. As soon as we scored, there was a total relaxation. We let Nantes play. I sensed tension and overzealousness. “

If the start of the second half was different, the offensive animation left something to be desired, until Thuram, excellent, did not stand out (56^e) and offers precious success to his own. And regrets to Nantes who lost for the first time in the last five games. “We did what was necessary to score but the high level is efficiency. I hope this game will allow us to learn and grow.” consented Antoine Kombouaré, the coach of the Canaries.