On the fifth day of Ligue 1, between the derbies of the north (Nantes-Rennes, Lens-Lille) and the highly anticipated French classic (Marseille-Psg, 20:45), there was one match that, at least on paper, did not promise spectacle, that involving two teams currently occupying the central zones of the classification, Brest and Nice.
The Nice team coached by Franck Haise, in serious difficulty since the start of the season due to numerous injuries, visited Brest last night and returned to the Côte d'Azur with a sound defeat (4-1), just four days before the game against Roma in the Europa League.
Nice was in obvious difficulty from the first minutes of the game, especially in the defensive phase, and it seems clear that the Rossoneri are not yet ready to do without Dante.
After conceding two goals in the first nine minutes of the match (Ajorque 6′, Del Castillo 9′), Nice were able to react and halved the distance with Moffi on an assist from Boudaoui (2-1, 30′). In the remaining part of the first half, Boga, Gouveia and Boudaoui wasted a lot.
At the start of the second half, Nice had regained lucidity and control of the game, with Brest more passive but always on the alert.
There were still a couple of real chances, one on each side, those of Ajorque and Moffi, before Nice's rout (Chotard, 3-1, 70′, Lascary, 4-1, 76’), to be blamed mainly on a defence that was not up to the mark in Ligue 1.
After a victory snatched from Nantes last weekend, more useful for the mood than really convincing in terms of play, that against Brest is the third defeat in five league games, and it comes against a team that had yet to win a game this season.
There could not be a more disheartening performance a few days away from Nice's first big match of the season, Wednesday's Europa League opener at the Allianz Riviera against AS Roma (21:00).
