The game: 1-0
Bad against OL (0-2) and Clermont (0-1), unstoppable against OM (4-1), Nice is on alternating current. This Sunday, the Aiglons were rare. They only won 1-0 against Angers (Kluivert, in the 18th minute) but they saw two goals disallowed for slight offside and they had plenty of chances.
Omnipresent in the midfield, where he had been preferred to Mario Lemina and Morgan Schneiderlin, Khéphren Thuram did not fit in the 16th, like Andy Delort (69th, 74th). Often called upon, Danijel Petkovic won in a less academic way against Kasper Dolberg (35th), Delort (39th) and Thuram (42nd).
Opposite, Angers lack confidence and this was seen with great offensive inefficiency. Mohamed-Ali Cho wasted a counter (17th), Sofiane Boufal was blocked in extremis by Dante (58th) then saw Walter Benitez slam his long shot (81st). At the end of the first period, the OGCN goalkeeper was saved by his post, on a magnificent shot from Souleyman Doumbia (45th). Defeated four times in a row, the SCO is the worst team in L1 over the last eight days.
1/12
Angers have won only one of their last 12 Ligue 1 trips (7 draws, 4 defeats): it was in Reims on December 5 (2-1).
The man: Kluivert getting better and better
This summer, Nice was loaned Justin Kluivert (22) for €1 million. An agreement has been reached with Roma for a €14 million purchase option. It looks more and more like a good deal, as the Dutch international (two selections) has been gaining momentum for several weeks. Evolving equally on the right and on the left, the son of Patrick Kluivert has scored four goals and provided two assists in his last eight matches. ” I want to be important for the team, to be decisive. I want to continue on this rhythm “, he said on Prime Video.
This Sunday, he opened the scoring by slipping the ball between the legs of Petkovic, receiving a perfect opening from Melvin Bard (18th). Kluivert’s contribution on set pieces is also increasingly important: twice, his pretty free kicks found Thuram and Delort but their goals were canceled for offside (11th, 67th).
Moving on the wings, the right-handed dribbler passed by Ajax posed big problems for the opposing defense, Enzo Ebosse being for example forced to tackle him severely (30th). Winner of 8 duels out of 13 played, he also worked a lot defensively, achieving 5 recoveries (record for the offensive players of the match).