Things look slightly odd when it comes to the Ligue 1 table at the moment, but given that only three rounds have been played for most of the group, it’s understandable. OGC Nice welcomed Olympique Marseille to their Allianz Riviera Stadium as the two teams took each other on in the last game of the round.
Nice entered the game in fourth place, with a chance to extend their 100% record in the season so far, having won both of their previous two matches. Marseille were also fourth, but counting from the wrong end of the table after picking up a meagre point from the opening two games.
Another, perhaps important thing to note is that the local authorities declared this match a high-risk one, and Marseille fans were therefore not permitted to attend.
Team News
Nice boss Patrick Vieira was without defender Racine Coly, who was sent off in the previous match. He also couldn’t count on forwards Myziane Maolida and Mohamed Lamine Diaby, midfielders Remi Walter and Danilo Barbosa, and defender Gautier Lloris due to injury problems.
Walter Benitez was in goal. Christophe Herelle and Dante formed the centre-back duo, with Patrick Burner on their right and Andy Pelmard on their left. Wylan Cyprien anchored the midfield, where he was joined by Arnaud Lusamba and Adrien Tameze. Ihsan Sacko led the attacking line, with Pierre Lees-Melou and Ignatius Kpene Ganago playing wide in support.
Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas only had to worry about not having winger Florian Thauvin at his disposal.
The experienced Steve Madanda stood between the posts. Boubacar Kamara and Alvaro Gonzalez were tasked with closing the door in front of their goalkeeper, flanked by Jordan Amavi on the left and Hiroki Sakai on the right. Kevin Strootman was the anchor in the middle, with Morgan Sanson and Maxime Lopez slightly more advanced. Dimitri Payet and Bouna Sarr supported Dario Benedetto upfront.
The First Half
Nice started on the strong foot with clear determination, while the visitors defended and sought to get something from any potential counterattacking opportunity. Just as it seemed that the the tempo of the game would be settled in that way, a few confusing moves by the home side allowed Marseille to establish balance on the pitch.
The visitors soon started pressing high up the pitch and they won the ball high in the sixth minute, but the move ended with Strootman barely testing Benitez from over 25 yards.
There was a good rhythm to the contest. Neither team seemed timid; on the contrary, they both played with a lot of risk and it almost paid off for Nice in the ninth minute. Lusamba took the ball through the middle to the edge of the box, where he laid if off for Cyprien to have a go, but the midfielder’s blast from 20 yards went just wide of the post.
Nonetheless, the moment was followed by a period of strong pressure from Nice as they looked to take advantage of Marseille’s sudden shakiness. But Villas-Boas’ men held out, and the balance that had disappeared for a while, returned before a quarter of an hour had gone.
In the 19th minute, Nice had another chance as Ganago charged down the right, but the winger was ruled offside. They threatened again within 60 seconds through Lees-Melou on the other side, but Marseille survived again.
With less than half an hour gone, highly unpleasant scenes began at the stadium. Inappropriate chants were being sung, offensive banners were spread across the stand behind Madanda’s goal, and referee Clement Turpin decided to stop the match. Some of the home players approached the fans, urging them to take the offensive banner down and stop the chanting, while others, along with Marseille players, went into the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms.
The two coaches used the stoppage to dish out a few additional instructions, and the game finally continued almost 10 minutes after it was stopped.
Not a minute had passed when Lees-Melou burst forward for Nice and went down under a tackle on the very edge of the box, but the referee waved “play on”. Nice continued attacking, but it would be Marseille who took the lead. Strootman did well to pull the ball forward quickly through the middle and engage Benedetto, who immediately released Sarr on the right wing. Sarr squared it for Benedetto again, and the striker managed to send the ball past Benitez and into the net with an awkwardly bouncing shot from around 15 yards.
0-1.
Payet almost doubled his team’s lead straight away as he slalomed in from the left, but his shot went just over the bar. Then Sarr set Benedetto again for a shot, but this time the striker’s volley went straight into Benitez.
The home side had a good chance in the 38th minute, when Kamara brought down Ganago on the edge of the box. Cyprien took the free-kick and hit the wall.
The game was fairly even through the final minutes of the half. Both sides had chances; Ganago failed to make the most of a defensive mistake from Sanson and Lusamba hit one from range over the bar for Nice, while Sanson had a free header from six yards at the other end after Payet delivered a sublime cross, but Benitez was well positioned.
The Second Half
The second period began much as the first ended – with chances on both sides, but first Benedetto failed to divert another Payet cross sufficiently to hit the target for Marseille, and then Burner sent one from 20 yards into the stands.
With 54 minutes gone, Vieira was forced into a change. Herelle was unable to continue playing due to injury, and Ibrahim Cisse came on in his place.
Nice slightly turned the volume up at that point and forced Marseille back, but they simply didn’t look comfortable in the situation. Marseille, on the other hand, had no problems with defending a little deeper and waiting for counterattacking opportunities; they were coming rather often and the visitors looked more likely to score again.
Seeing that his plan wasn’t working Vieira made his second substitution in the 62 minute. He replaced Tameze with Youcef Atal, who immediately burned the palms of Madanda with a powerful drive from range. In the very next Nice attack, Ganago charged into the box and went to ground under contact from Amavi, and the referee gave a penalty despite the Marseille defender’s protests.
Cyprien stepped up and slammed it into the top corner.
1-1.
But the joy of the home fans was short-lived. Germain, who had just replaced Lopez in the 70th minute, was the victim of a late tackle from Pelmard and the referee once more pointed to the spot. It was Payet who restored Marseille’s lead with a calm, low-driven penalty.
1-2.
The Payet-Germain combination almost added a third straight away as Payet’s corner found Germain’s forehead at the near post, but Benitez made a fine save.
The home team threw caution to the wind towards the end, especially after Vieira took out a defender (Pelmard) and sent on striker Mickael Le Bihan. Marseille were trying to slow the game down using any means necessary and it seemed to be working for them. Nice’s response was to try and win set-pieces in promising positions and in the end they resorted to obvious play-acting, but unfortunately for them, the referee was very alert to their tactics.
Panic seemed to have taken over the home team during the five-minute stoppage time and their attacks became disorganized. They just wanted to get the ball as far up the pitch as soon as possible, while Marseille were calm and defended well.
The Afterthought
The visitors won this game mostly on experience, and it cannot be said that they didn’t deserve it. They were the better team. They were smart when they needed to be, and they gradually got their opponents where they wanted to. They’ve now climbed a few steps in the Ligue 1 table, but the race has only just begun.
The problems for Nice don’t stop here, however. Not only did they waste the chance to go top, but they now await the judgement of the French FA on the unfortunate incident in the first half.
Match Report
OGC NICE: Benitez 7.5, Herelle 6 (55′ Cisse 8), Dante 7, Pelmard 6 (81′ Le Bihan N/A), Burner 7, Cyprien 7.5, Lusamba 6, Tameze 5.5 (62′ Atal 7), Lees-Melou 7.5, Ganago 7, Sacko 5.
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE: Madanda 8, Kamara 7.5, Gonzalez 7.5, Amavi 6.5, Sakai 7, Strootman 7.5, Sanson 7.5, Lopez 6 (70′ Germain 8), Payet 7.5, Sarr 7.5 (89′ Caleta-Car N/A), Benedetto 7.5 (81′ Gustavo N/A)
GOALS: Benedetto 31′, Cyprien (P) 66′, Payet (P) 73′.
YELLOW CARDS: Benedetto 18′, Lees-Melou 90′.
REFEREE: Clement Turpin.
DATE & VENUE: August 28, 2019, Allianz Riviera, Nice.
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