OGC Nice crushed AS Saint-Etienne 8-0 on Friday in the opening match of the 5th day of Ligue 1. Off topic, the Greens were trailing 6-0 at half-time.
Nice, author of a historic first half during which Franck Haise’s men scored six goals, pulverized Saint-Etienne (8-0) on Friday at the start of the 5th day of Ligue 1. On a pitch completely changed by the operator of the Allianz Riviera stadium following long weeks of controversy, Nice, in blue – the original colors – to celebrate the club’s 120th anniversary, had a perfect first half in a stadium announced to be sold out.
With six goals scored before the break, Dante and his teammates entered the history of Ligue 1, since it is a first in the 21st century. A first even since May 24, 1997 during the 38th day. Lyon had then humiliated Marseille (8-0) by scoring seven goals before half-time.
This extraordinary victory allows the Aiglons (7 points) to move up to 5th place in the standings while waiting for the other results of the weekend. And above all, Haise was able to best prepare for his team’s upcoming entry into the Europa League. Because on Wednesday, the opposition will be of a completely different caliber with the reception of Real Sociedad, 8th finalist of the Champions League last season.
For its part, Saint-Etienne remains, with three points, in the play-offs. For the moment… But the situation of coach Olivier Dall’Oglio will become very complicated very quickly. Inevitably, the crisis meetings will follow one after the other. And the supporters of the Greens, whose 350 who came to Nice deserted their enclosure after the 6th Nice goal, will grumble loudly.
Six goals in one half: historic
Everything had started very badly for the Greens anyway. In the 4th minute, Jonathan Clauss, on the right, crossed for Youssoufa Moukoko. But Dylan Batubinsika deflected it into his own camp (1-0, 4th). The ordeal had begun. Evan Guessand, shifted to the right, also attacked a desperate Saint-Etienne rearguard. His cross, poorly pushed back into the axis, was victoriously taken up by Tanguy Ndombélé, alone on the penalty spot (2-0, 7th).
Not used to finding himself in such a profitable position, the ex-Lyonnais took advantage of it to score only the second goal of his career in L1, more than five years after the one that gave the Gones victory, in a match on the last day of the championship, in Nîmes (3-2), on May 24, 2019.
With this lead, Nice then pushed. Before the match, Franck Haise had asked for a defensive animation that was finally effective. He had also expressly asked his attackers to be more decisive after the recurring shortcomings noted in Marseille (0-2) during the last day.
He was heard. The rest was a veritable flood of goals from Gautier Larsonneur, who was unable to get a shot out. First, he conceded the masterpiece of the evening: Mohamed-Ali Cho placed a missile with his left after cutting back into the middle of the field at the end of a run from midfield during which Ekwah was lost (3-0, 24th). In the process, Nice pushed again on the Saint-Etienne left side. Guessand finally thought he could score but his chip, deflected by Larsonneur, was headed back by the young Youssoufa Moukoko, on loan from Borussia Dortmund (4-0, 26th). Faced with the apathy of his players, Olivier Dall’Oglio tried everything: three changes. Result: Nice scored twice more before the break.
Guessand finally scored his goal following a solo raid down the left side, a subtle dribble on Yunis Abdelhamid and a caress with his right foot (5-0, 37th). On fire, he distinguished himself again just after. His service for Moukoko was perfect. The German international was radical to close a historic half at the Allianz Riviera (6-0, 39th). Ridiculed before the break, Saint-Etienne also lost the second half. The returning Sofiane Diop scored the 7th goal (76th). And Pablo Rosario closed the party, scoring, in general jubilation and on penalty, his first goal with the Gym (8-0, 86th).
