PLAYER RATINGS | OGC Nice 2-1 Strasbourg: <i>Les Aiglons </i>fight back to extend their unbeaten run | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 12, 24/10/24

OGC Nice had to fight from behind to take all three points against RC Strasbourg Alsace (2-1) in a result that extends both club’s respective runs, in a positive way for the former, a negative way for the latter.

The Match

It was a first-half of few chances with OGC Nice the more threatening for most of the half without ever laying seige on the Strasbourg goal or forcing Djordje Petrovic’s goal. RCSA were happy to hit on transition but that didn’t mean that they didn’t press high. In fact, their goal came from a turnover.

Tom Louchet’s loose ball was collected by Ismaël Doukouré, fed to Félix Lemarechal, who in turn found Dilane Bakwa. The Fracne youth international had no troubled beating Marcin Bulka at the nearpost and giving Les Alsaciens the lead.

Les Aiglons struggled to fully unlock the Strasbourg defence in the first-half but did so with relative ease early in the second. Sofiane Diop, making his first Ligue 1 start in a year, turned in a subdued first half but found Melvin Bard’s run in-behind the the defender kept his cool to beat the oncoming Petrovic.

Momentum was with Nice and they took the lead six minutes later. It was Diop once again with the vertical through ball. This time it didn’t find a teammate but Abakar Sylla did the job for him, sliding the ball past his own goalkeeper. We had to wait until the 93rd minute for the next clear-cut chance with the marauding Bard, running half the length of the pitch before shooting straight at the retreating Petrovic.

Petrovic was called into action once again seconds later with Gaëtan Laborde’s effort requiring a good stop from the Chelsea loanee’s feet. But the two goals were enough as Nice go unbeaten in eight games in Ligue 1. RCSA, meanwhile, have now lost their last three.

Nice player ratings

Marcin Bulka – 5

Melvin Bard – 7

Vital in both phases of play, he made a potentially goal-saving tackle on Dilane Bakwa in the first half and then showed the determination to pull Le Gym back into the tie in the second half. The defender almost got a brace from his left-back berth. Solid defensively over the past year, he is now showing progress going forward.

Dante – 6

Moïse Bombito – 5

Tom Louchet – 3

Hicham Boudaoui – 4

Pablo Rosario – 4

Sofiane Diop – 7

Subdued in the first-half, he came to the fore at the start of the second. He found the space and exploited it, putting through the two through balls that decided the game in Nice’s favour.

Jérémie Boga – 4

Evann Guessand – 5

Mohamed-Ali Cho – 5

Strasbourg player ratings

Djordje Petrovic – 5

Caleb Wiley – 4

Replaced by Marvin Senaya (4) at half-time.

Mamadou Sarr – 5

Abakar Sylla – 3

A match punctuated by the match-defining error, the missed pass back to Petrovic. There was a lack of communication, a lack of understanding and of positioning in what was a terrible moment for the centre-back.

Guéla Doue – 4

Félix Lemarechal – 7

Ismaël Doukouré – N/A

Replaced by Junior Mwanga (5) on the 26-minute mark.

Andrey Santos – 7

Wearing the armband for the first time at Strasbourg, he repaid Rosenior’s confidence, keeping things tidy and organised in the midfield and winning 13 of his 14 duels and making comfortably the most tackles of any player on the pitch (9).

Diego Moreira – 5

Sébastien Nanasi – 4

Dilane Bakwa – 6

GFFN | Luke Entwistle