At the end of a high quality and intense match, Lens fell to Nice (0-1) on Wednesday Bollaert, as part of the 21st day of Ligue 1. Bad operation in the classification for the Sang et Or, who abandoned second place OM…
Obviously, Lille loves to play the northern teams at the moment.
By beating Nantes (2-0) at La Beaujoire earlier in the evening, Olympique de Marseille temporarily took second place, clearly putting pressure on Lens. And the Sang et Or, who seem to have suffered since their fine victory against Paris (3-1) in early January, have not managed to come back in front.
Blame it on an excellent team from Nice, who came to win Bollaert (1-0) this Wednesday, as part of the 21st day of Ligue 1, thus extending their invincibility since the arrival of Didier Digard on the bench. .
Nice is off to a good start, Laborde confirms
Overtaken by OM earlier in the evening, the Sang et Or were keen to score an 11th home victory to regain the runners-up spot. But the Aiglons did not come as tourists, and they quickly proved it with a big chance for Mendy, annihilated by Samba. Laborde could also have scored, but an opposing foot prevented him. Behind, Boudaoui’s exit on injury somewhat dampened the enthusiasm of Niois…
CT RCL? Not much during the first half hour, apart from an incursion from Fofana, taken up by a superb defensive return from Ramsey. Then the awakening: Costa found Sad in the box, who was blocked by Youssouf then Dante after eliminating Schmeichel! Better before and after the break, with Sang et Or much more conquering… but still exposed to counter-attacks. On one of them, Nice got a corner. And on the corner, the surface fox Laborde air-conditioned Bollaert (0-1, 58th)!
The bar for Fofana!
Pushed by their public, Racing also pushed to come back, and Fofana thought to shake the net… but only the crossbar did after his cannon shot. Haise brought in Openda and Sotoca to deputize for the captain, but to no avail. In the end, it was even Nice who nearly doubled the lead twice, via Thuram then Laborde. 1-0 or 2-0, it doesn’t matter, but second or third, a little more.
The score of the match: 7/10
A very good Ligue 1 match, as often with RC Lens this season, and also with Le Gym since Didier Digard arrived on the bench. We always wonder how the players managed to put on such intensity for more than 90 minutes…
The goal :
– On a corner, Mendy dvies perfectly at the first post to find Laborde at the second, before the striker scores in the empty goal (0-1, 58th).
Players’ NOTES
Maxifoot has assigned a score (out of 10) comments on each player.
Man of the Match: Aaron Ramsey (7.5/10)
No, Ramsey did not come to Ligue 1 to quietly end his career there. The Welshman is totally part of the INEOS project, and he once again showed why today. The former Arsenal player started his game with a superb defensive return past Fofana, and he then shone offensively with an opening marvel for Mendy. Beyond that, he showed tremendous activity in midfield.
LENS :
Brice Samba (5): less spectacular than usual against the Aiglons, Samba didn’t have much work to do tonight. At first he managed a first situation well against Mendy, but then he missed a few centimeters to block the deflection from the right side on Laborde’s goal.
Jonathan Gradit (5): still just as valuable in Franck Haise’s system, Gradit made a decent match. In the first period, he released a hot ball in front of Laborde. Replace 78th minute with Remy Labeau (not).
Kevin Danso (5): Laborde won few duels against the imposing central defender, but Laborde still got several chances. So Danso was certainly not on the mark on the Niois striker at the time of the goal, but he still left him too much space outside of this action.
Facundo Medina (6): probably the best Lensois defender today, thanks in particular to his passing quality. Medina is constantly breaking down the lines to find his attacking midfielders or forwards, and he was once again invaluable tonight despite the defeat.
Przemyslaw Frankowski (5.5): a lot of generosity for little precision in his centers. We saw the right piston more inspired when approaching the zone of truth…
Seko Fofana (6): Fofana has not died, unlike some of his teammates. The captain fought throughout the game to make the difference, and he almost did in the second half, but his cannon shot ended up on the bar.
Jean Onana (5.5): surprise holder in the absence of Abdul Samed, Onana has done an interesting job in midfield, with lots of forward projections. Replace the 65th minute with Lukasz Poreba (not not).
Massadio Hadara (4): author of a hesitant start to the match, the left piston was quickly injured. Replace the 25th minute with Deiver Machado (4)guilty of a slight delay on Laborde at the time of the opening of the score.
Adrien Thomasson (5): author of his first goal in his new colors against Troyes (1-1) last weekend, the attacking midfielder failed to confirm. Generous and available, the former Strasbourg player lacked precision in the last pass or the last gesture. Replace the 65th minute with Florian Sotoca (not not).
Wesley Sad (4): preferred Openda at kick-off, the former Rennais had a difficult match. Lonely up front, he was uninspired in his snaps and he rarely managed to combine with his attacking midfielders, except in action with Costa. An action on which he lacks accuracy against Schmeichel. Replace the 65th minute with Openda Laws (not not).
David Costa (5): surprise holder, the attacking midfielder showed interesting things, like this breakthrough in the axis to finally serve Sad. But it sometimes tends to disappear during the meeting, and that’s a shame…
NICE :
Kasper Schmeichel (7): excellent against Lille (1-0) last weekend, the Danish goalkeeper once again had a great game with four saves in total, including a decisive one ahead of Fofana in the second half.
Youssouf Ndayishimiye (6): surprise holder in the five-defender system set up by Didier Digard, the young central assured. Solid in duels, he also brought out several balls cleanly.
Dante (6.5): The years pass, but Dante remains as solid as ever in the big games. Bollaert obviously did not impress the Brazilian, who held the barracks when the boat started to rock.
Jean-Clair Todibo (6): very solid against the Lensois assaults, the central defender was finally overtaken by his physique and replaced in the 59th minute by Mattia Viti (not not)which helped hold the score.
Antoine Mendy (7): a big game from the right side, who played in a piston role. He very quickly signaled himself by putting Samba to work, before offering the one and only goal of the match, Laborde, with a very nice deflection of the head. Replace the 59th minute with Melvin Bard (not not).
Aaron Ramsey (7.5): see above.
Hichem Boudaoui (5.5): author of an excellent start to the match despite a dangerous loss of the ball near his surface, the midfielder unfortunately left injured. Replace 21st minute with Pablo Rosario (6)very solid in the midfield.
Khphren Thuram-Ulien (6): a warrior match for the son of Lilian, who did not spare his efforts in midfield. Until the end, Thuram played all the shots, and he could have been rewarded in the last moments, but Samba decided otherwise.
Jordan Lotomba (5.5): left-placed, the usual right-back has not suffered, but he has not been fantastic either. Lotomba was mostly content to defend, and he did it pretty well.
Gatan Laborde (6.5): scorer against Lille (1-0) last weekend, Laborde handed over to Bollaert in a match that was not easy for him. It must be said that the former Rennais had few balls to eat, with always two defenders glued to his sneakers. But with a goal and the three points, he still risks having a good night.
Sofiane Diop (6): a good match from the former Mongasque, very valuable to keep the ball and direct it to the front. The Gym’s rare dangerous actions often came from him.
+ 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!
LENS 0-1 NICE (mid-time: 0-0) – FRANCE – Ligue 1 / 21st day
Stadium: Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens – Referee: Thomas Leonard, France
Goals : – G. Laborde (57th) for NICE
Warnings :-
LENS :
NICE :
Rookie Angelo Fulgini was introduced to his new supporters ahead of the game
The big Lensoise opportunity of the match, sign Sad
on the lookout for a corner, Laborde conditioned Bollaert in the second period (0-1, 58th)
End of the crazy home series for Lens and Fofana, who hit the crossbar
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