He was a (very) important element of the Nice midfield at the time. Two years later, he is still the master of the zone. For his third season in red and black, Mika Seri sat down to speak in an interview that will appear in the next OGCNICE.mag. Looking back at the game between Nice and Rennes in April 2016, which definitively got the Aiglons onto the path towards Europe. 

Rennes (5th, 46 points) against Le Gym (7th, 45 points), at the Allianz Riviera, neck and neck battling out for Europe: it's a scenario that we have already seen... What does it remind you of? 

The years are similar in a way. They are confident, it's good for them. On our side of things, we only need to think about remaining loyal to our philosophy and our principles, no matter who we face. We aren't putting ourselves as favourites just because we have done well in the last two final sprints. We won't turn up expecting, but will be confident and determined. Rennes are a good side, if they are where they are, it's because they are going well. But at home, we can be impressive, so we won't hide. We want this 5th place and we will do all we can to get it. 

What can make the difference on Sunday? 

Rennes can come with a deep block and try to counter us; or to press us high up the pitch and to leave holes in behind. I don't know what they will opt for, but we will need to adapt as we know how to.  This week, the coach has made us work on dead ball situations, so that we are ready for everything. We will need to be patient, not to look for the decision straight away, not to guess. It's not a match where we will have the knife up to our throat, there will be other games, so we need to be patient.

What memories do you have of the match two years ago? 

Rennes were in form at the time, with a phenomenal Dembélé. We managed to deny him of the ball, he was kept under the radar. We were able to wait for the right moment to hit them and Hatem hurt them (3-0 victory on 10 April 2016, hat trick for the playmaker, Editor's note). We are still tough to play at home, and we were back then two years ago...

C.D

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