OGC Nice Claims Provisional Leadership with 1-0 Victory over Clermont Foot 63 in Ligue 1

For the inaugural match of the 10th day of Ligue 1, we were treated to a clash of extremes between the host, Clermont Foot 63, penultimate in the standings, and OGC Nice, runner-up to AS Monaco with a small delay. The Auvergnats had nevertheless been in better shape in recent weeks, a revival confirmed by their victory in Lyon, bottom of L1. For its part, the Gym was still undefeated in the championship and hoped to temporarily steal first place from AS Monaco, traveling to Lille on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m.).

Despite their mixed results since the start of the season, Pascal Gastien’s men showed better things in the latest stages, like in Montpellier – a match to be replayed ultimately, or against OL. But against a well-organized Nice team, notably thanks to a great Jean-Clair Todibo, the CF63 was never dangerous enough to greatly worry the last Polish rampart Marcin Bulka, voted best player of the month for September. And very quickly, the Gym was just as interesting in the other penalty area…

To read
Ligue 1: can OGC Nice stand up to PSG?

The classic fare for the Aiglons away

Indeed, Gaëtan Laborde was the first to thrill Gabriel-Montpied with his recovery from the right, the ball first hitting the post before being caught by Mory Diaw (10th). Francesco Farioli’s foals were even the only ones to try their luck on goal in the first half. Following a foul by Alidu Seidu on Hicham Boudaoui, the referee whistled a penalty for the visitors, who saw Laborde exert too much power and miss the target from 11 meters (37th). The other former Montpellier from OGC, Morgan Sanson, also had less success in front of goal, with a shot blocked by Max Caufriez (43rd).

Returning from the locker room, the Clermontois finally showed better offensive intentions, but fell on a central Todibo-Dante hinge that was more than solid, despite a few opportunities for Muhammad Cham (56th) or Shamar Nicholson (72nd). Finally, the Aiglons found the gap on the left, with Romain Perraud serving Boudaoui, pushing the ball into the empty goal (74th). The score did not change until the final whistle. With another 1-0 away success, OGC Nice is the new provisional leader of Ligue 1, while Clermont misses the opportunity to escape the relegation zone.