At the end of a balanced, if not spectacular, meeting, Nice and Reims logically shared the points (0-0) this Saturday, as part of the 24th day of Ligue 1. The two coaches, Didier Digard and Will Still, remain undefeated in the league.
Balogun and Schmeichel arrter his penalty.
left, Didier Digard’s OGC Nice, which has four consecutive victories in Ligue 1. right, Will Still’s Stade de Reims, which has not been defeated for 15 matches.
There was therefore logically no defeat between these two currently invincible teams (0-0) this Saturday, as part of the 24th day of Ligue 1. The defenses clearly took precedence over the attacks, while Schmeichel saved Balogun’s penalty early in the second half.
Balogun cracks Todibo!
After having knocked down Lille, Lens, OM and Ajaccio, the Aiglons were keen to continue with a 5th victory in a row in the league. And they tried everything to make a difference in the first act, with more than 10 strikes attempted by Moffi, Laborde or even Thuram, but they did not really succeed in disturbing Diouf. A figure to prove it? Zero, like the number of shots on target.
Opposite ? Not much. Will Still’s men, who have not been defeated for 15 games, mainly defended in the first half. Fortunately, they returned to the pitch with much better intentions, especially Balogun. In a first duel, Todibo prevented him from scoring, but the striker on loan from Arsenal then pushed the central defender to concede a penalty!
Schmeichel, he again!
The top scorer in Ligue 1 wanted to do justice to himself, but he fell on an impeccable Schmeichel! First shot on target of the match? Yes, the 55th. The Gym responded, via Thuram, without Diouf really having to do his best. The end of the match will even have been for the visitors, with a nice header signed by Van Bergen, close to hitting the target, and a big situation spoiled by Ito.
In the end, a draw which obviously does not help anyone, because Nice could have come back to level with Rennes and Reims that of Lorient, but which nevertheless allows the two coaches to remain undefeated in L1. Digard and Still would probably have preferred points, but they will settle for it…
Match score: 4/10
We were expecting a good match between two in-form teams, and we didn’t get it. This Saturday, the defenses have clearly taken precedence over the attack, and that’s a shame…
Players’ NOTES
Maxifoot has assigned a score (out of 10) comments on each player.
Man of the match: Kasper Schmeichel (7/10)
Some will perhaps remain on his missed outing, which almost allowed Van Bergen to open the scoring late in the game, and that is a mistake. Because without Schmeichel, the Aiglons would undoubtedly have lost today. In the second half, he notably stopped Balogun’s penalty.
NICE :
Kasper Schmeichel (7): see more today.
Jordan Lotomba (7): a big game for the right side of Niois, who multiplied the offensive climbs and won many duels, in front and behind.
Jean-Clair Todibo (5.5): Schmeichel saved him. The central defender was still playing a high quality game before being caught by Balogun in the area. Fortunately for him, the Reims striker found the Niois goalkeeper’s gloves.
Dante (6): a serious meeting for the captain, who released many hot balls in the area. On the other hand, he did not manage to weigh on the offensive set pieces.
Melvin Bard (6.5): like Lotomba right, Bard has not spared his left efforts either. The former Lyonnais was very valuable thanks to his attacking moves, but he still struggled in the last pass.
Aaron Ramsey (6): in this middle three with Boudaoui and Thuram, Ramsey continues to perform well, and his match against the Rmois confirmed the thing. Replace 76th minute with Youssouf Ndayishimiye (non not).
Hichem Boudaoui (6): the worker in the shadows of OGC Nice, always with the same quality to bring out the balls under pressure.
Khphren Thuram-Ulien (6.5): Like Ramsey and Boudaoui, Thuram did a lot of work in midfield and he also projected himself forward. The only strike from Nioise frame of the day is notably for him. Replace the 90th minute with Pablo Rosario (non not).
Gatan Laborde (5): divided between the right wing and the tip, as has sometimes been the case in Rennes, Laborde seems to be having trouble finding his place despite everything. Replace 76th minute with Badredine Bouanani (not not).
Terem Moffi (4): another complicated match for the star rookie of the winter transfer window. In his defense, Moffi once again had very few interesting balloons to eat. Replace the 90th minute with Ross Barkley (non not).
Sofiane Diop (5.5): still as generous in his efforts, the attacking midfielder fell on a bone against Foket, well helped by defensive returns from Ito. Replace the 66th minute with Bilal Brahimi (non not).
REIMS :
Yehvann Diouf (6): Diouf only had one save, on a point-blank header from Thuram, and he did it. What more ?
Thomas Foket (6): less offensive than usual, the right-back still had a good game, containing Diop well.
Cheick Keita (6): when Abdelhamid was not there to take care of Moffi, his understanding Keita did. And quite well done. Replace the 71st minute with Maxime Busi (non not).
Younis Abdelhamid (7): a boss match for the central defender, who left no space for opposing attackers, and especially Moffi.
Thibault De Smet (5.5): like Foket right, we expected a more offensive De Smet left. But like his understanding, the full-back mainly defended before starting to climb at the end of the second period.
Azor Matusiwa (6): another good game in midfield for Matusiwa, who recovered many balls and blocked several attacks from Nioise.
Dion Lopy (6.5): expected on the bench, Lopy justified his tenure. With Matusiwa, he made a big game in midfield to allow his team to take a point.
Junya Ito (5): not his best game. Ito is still generous and fights like hell, but sometimes he lacks accuracy. Whether in the last pass or the last gesture, the image of this bad situation at the end of the match…
Alexis Flips (5): against the trio of Ramsey, Boudaoui and Thuram, the midfielder from Reims struggled to make a difference. Logically replaced the 61st minute by Jens Cajust (not not).
Myziane Maolida (5.5): rather interesting in the first period, Maolida could have opened the scoring in the second… if Balogun hadn’t stolen his recovery after Schmeichel’s penalty stoppage. Replace the 61st minute with Mitchell van Bergen (non not)who almost hit the bull’s eye late in the game.
Folarin Balogun (5): the title of man of the match was at the end of his right foot. But Balogun took his penalty too weakly after having obtained it alone like a grown-up. And above all, he prevented Maolida from scoring on the recovery, his own having finished its race in the clouds. Replace the 90th minute with And Sierhuis (non not).
+ Find the results and the classification of Ligue 1 on Maxifoot
And for you, who were the best and worst players of the match? Comment in the “comments” box below!
NICE 0-0 REIMS (mi-tps: 0-0) – FRANCE – Ligue 1 / 24th day
Stadium: Allianz Riviera, Nice – Referee: Marc Bollengier, France
Buts :
Warnings : J. Lotomba (45th)for NICE – D. Lopy (87th)for REIMS
NICE : K. Schmeichel – J. Todibo, Dante – J. Lotomba, M. Bard – A. Ramsey (Y. Thank you, 76e), H. Boudaoui, K. Thuram-Ulien (P. Rosario, 90e) – G. Laborde (B. Bouanani, 76e), T. Moffi (R. Barkley, 90e), S. Diop (B. Brahimi, 66th)
REIMS : Y.Diouf – Cheick Keita (M. Busi, 71st), Y. Abdelhamid – T. Foket, T. De Smet – A. These texts, D. Lopy – A. Flips (J. Cadjus, 61st) – J. This, M. Maolida (M. van Bergen, 61e) – F. Balogun (K. Sierhuis, 90th)
Balogun’s penalty…
…arrt by Schmeichel!
At the end of the match, Van Bergen had a big chance with a header
