swept away in Lens, Nice moves away from the Champions League

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Reduced to ten then to nine, the Nice chained a fourth defeat in a row (3-0), Sunday, on the lawn of Lens.

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This chronic inefficiency risks costing Nice dearly. Overall dominating against Lensois yet quickly reduced to ten, the Azureans failed, Sunday, April 10, at Bollaert (3-0). Punished by three artesian pawns at the start of the second period, the Niçois did not win for the fourth time in a row. This unfortunate slack relegated the Aiglons to five points from the qualifying places for the Champions League.

Christophe Galtier had plenty to hope for in the 18th minute. The ugly sole of Massadio Haïdara on Youcef Atal had just been sanctioned with a red card. But this numerical superiority did not allow the Niçois to break through a Lensois lock reinforced by the excellent Jean-Louis Leca. A constant for the Aiglons: for the twelfth time, Nice finished a match without scoring. Displaying the ninth attack in Ligue 1 is insufficient to aim for the podium.

Worse, the defensive solidity of the Côte d’Azur has also been shattered. Enthusiastic despite their numerical inferiority, the Sang et Or did not hesitate to project themselves in numbers. The risk-taking paid off. On the counter-attack, Arnaud Kalimuendo sneaked in twice (51st, 67th) to cricufier the people of Nice. Meanwhile, Cheikh Doucouré capsized Bollaert’s boiling public with a dead leaf in the window of Walter Benitez (67th). Nice even finished nine, after a second yellow received by Mario Lemina (57th) then an uncontrolled tackle from Dante (90th + 1).

This euphoric quarter of an hour was enough for Franck Haise’s men to afford a prestigious victory. Mute during three of its last four outings, the artesian machine is back in motion a week before the derby in Lille. Even irregular, Racing goes back to eighth place. Sixth place, the last European sesame, is only three points away. Or how to spice up an end to the season that we thought was without issue.


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