Decisive and inspired, Wylan Cyprien deservedly takes home the title of Aiglon of the Match for Nice – St-Etienne (1-0). One in two votes were attributed to the number 25 (50% of your votes). Behind him, you also chose to underline the performances of Patrick Burner (27%) and Dante (7%).

Football is amnesic, but at the same time has a memory from every challenge. The antithesis which brushes the psyche of the most beautiful sport on the planet finds a superb attachment point in the Nice midfielder's performance on Sunday. Having suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Caen in March 2017, Wylan Cyprien has worked tremendously hard to create a return in his own image. To see him gambol around the pitch, moving the ball around (74 successful passes, the highest on the pitch) and to recover (12 balls, his highest total in the top-flight), you would have thought that no challenges had been there to halt his progress. That the 9 months it took to make his comeback had almost come from fiction. Forgetting through the act, is a consequence of the action. 

However, as he won the game for his side with a beauty of a free kick (see below), all of the images immediately warmed hearts and memories came back immediately. Yes, his absence had been felt in the same way as his triumphant return. His 11th goal in the top-flight, the fifth from outside the box, allowed the Gym to take home victory by the smallest of margins and secured his first Aiglon of the Match trophy for this season. His last one came back in March 2017... as he secured the victory against Dijon with a clean strike  (1-0, 4 March 2017). 

Behind the midfielder from Guadeloupe, we find the full-back from Martinique. Coming through the ranks at the Gym, where he signed at 17 years old, Patrick Burner set himself up on the right wing with commitment and desire. Attentive in defence, he perfectly managed Paul-Georges Ntep, whose only source of danger came from a powerful volley in the first half. In attack, Patrick impressed with his audaciousness, to the great pleasure of the fans in the Allianz. This included an excellent run just after the break where, after starting in the middle of the pitch, he beat 4 players, but couldn't find a way past Ruffier.

Finally, you chose to place the captain on the 3rd step of the podium. At the heart of he defence, Dante was solid for 94 minutes. Playing alongside an attentive Malang Sarr, the former Bayern man was also responsible for a decisive block in the 34th minute. He denied Cabella after Makengo had given the ball away, and the Brazilian found himself in a duel with the French international. He stood up, waited for the right moment and tackled to save his side. Imperious.

C.D.

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