Andy Delort bagged a quickfire brace, as OGC Nice mounted a stunning fightback to keep their European aspirations alive. Early dominance from St Étienne curiously contributed to their own downfall once again, as they remain the only Ligue 1 team to mathematically fare better when conceding the first goal this season.It was immediately evident that Nice’s dejected players had failed to shake off a crippling French Cup final defeat on Saturday, which would have earned the club’s first silverware in 25 years, and Christophe Galtier’s normally water-tight defence was tested within minutes. Denis Bouanga faced the wrath of his team-mates for failing to spot an easy square pass, which would have set up Arnaud Nordin, but he made amends minutes later by turning in Yvann Maçon’s powerful cross.The Eaglets struggled to find their rhythm on home turf, and although Andy Delort headed in before halftime, the flag promptly went up. Shortly after, a mesmerising St Étienne move saw Nice fall two behind, following a clever move kick-started by Bouanga’s mazey run and finished off by Zaydou Youssouf’s pinpoint volley.St Étienne’s smiles would not be on their faces for much longer after the restart, with Paul Bernardoni set to endure a nightmare second half. The quickfire turnaround began with Melvin Bard, who notched his second senior goal from the kind of tight angle any goalkeeper should have had covered. Bernardoni was then stumped by the swerve on a blistering free kick from Andy Delort.In brutal fashion, the visitors’ misery was compounded just two minutes later when Delort notched his second from a Justin Kluivert cut-back, and with St Étienne staring into the abyss, Hicham Boudaoui’s deflected volley looped into the net to complete a second-half rout. The result catapults Nice into the UEFA Europa League spots with two matches remaining, while St Étienne remain three points from safety, having won one of their past nine games.On a more sour note – Nice fans did not heal from the defeat by Nantes in the Coupe de France final. Because, it is difficult to explain their scandalous chanting during today’s match in any other way.Namely, a part of the supporters of the home team sang a song by Nantes fans dedicated to Emiliano Sala, the Argentine striker who died in 2019 when the plane that he was in crashed when he was on his way to Cardiff to sign with the Welsh club.The song in his honor reads: “He is an Argentine who never gives up, Emiliano Sala, Emiliano Sala.” The version sung by the fans from the Cote d’Azur is: “He is an Argentine who does not swim well, Emiliano has drowned, Emiliano has drowned”.The filthy minds that came up with this hardly deserve to watch their team in the Champions League (or anywhere else), but footballers cannot influence the behavior of their fans. They did their job properly on the pitch and this win brought the pressure back on Monaco before their match against Brest.
LIGUE 1 – ROUND 36FridayLOSC Lille – Monaco 1-2 (0-1)/Gomes 69 – Tchouameni 42, 75/SaturdayBrest – Strasbourg 0-1 (0-0)/Gameiro 72/SundayMetz – Olympique Lyon 3-2 (2-1)/Pajot 27, Lamkel Ze 40, Boulaya 90 – Dembele 43, 84/Angers – Bordeaux 4-1 (2-0)/Cho 5, Mendy 36, Bahoken 62, Pereira Lage 90- Mara 60/Clermont – Montpellier 2-1 (1-1)/Rashani 4, Bayo 69 – Chotard 32/Reims – Lens 1-2 (1-0)/Zeneli 28 – Sotoca 55, Fofana 90+1/Lorient -Olympique Marseille 0-3 (0-1)/Dieng 39, Guendouzi 48, Gerson 67/PSG – Troyes 2-2 (2-1)/Marquinhos 6, Neymar 25 pen – Ugbo 30, Tardieu 49 pen/WednesdayNice – Saint-Etienne 4-2 (0-2)/Bard 52, Delort 60, 62, Boudaoui 80 – Bouanga 11, Youssouf 45+3/Nantes – Rennes 1-1 IN PROGRESS***odds are subject to change
©FlashScore