The Aiglons came up against a solid Metz side and won by the slimmest of margins thanks to Hicham Boudaoui. The good run continues!

Solid. If one word had to describe Francesco Farioli's men's performance at the Saint-Symphorien on Saturday afternoon, it would be this. Winners over Metz (0-1), the Rouge et Noir never looked in trouble against an opponent who did have 10 shots but only 3 on target. With a fifth clean sheet this season, their third in a row, Les Aiglons consolidated their status as Ligue 1's best defenders and temporarily regained top spot in the league ahead of this weekend's games for Monaco and Brest.

THE AIGLONS AT EASE

The Azuréens made their task easier by opening the scoring quickly through Hicham Boudaoui, following a high-quality team move. Starting in Nice's half, the sequence of possession leading up to the goal ended with Boga facing up to the Metz defence. The Côte d'Ivoire international played it into Thuram who flicked a one-touch pass to Bard. From the left of the box, the defender crossed hard to Boudaoui, who only had to finish into the empty net (0-1, 14').

Earlier, Thuram could have beaten the advancing Oukidja if his lofted cross had not bounced off the Messinian keeper's bar. Against a Grenats side that are hard to handle, having already beaten Lens (M5, 0-1) and held Marseille to a draw (M2, 2-2), Les Aiglons showed their composure, controlling the ball and keeping their opponents on their toes. In fact, they ended the match with 69% of the possession, a sign of their control on the game.

However, Le Gym could have been caught out on a couple of Lorraine counter-attacks, such as Kouao's cross, which was poorly cleared by Todibo. Fortunately, Youssouf was on hand to block Udol's rebound (37').

BOUDAOUI VALUABLE AND DECISIVE

With Hicham Boudaoui scoring his first goal of the season and making an important contribution with his technical ability in the face of the home side's pressing, the Rouge et Noir controlled the second half but missed several opportunities to finish the game. Following a Lotomba touch, the 'Prince of Béchar' Boudaoui crossed well from the right and found Moffi alone against Oukidja, but the Super Eagle's shot failed to beat the Algerian international goalkeeper (51').  Replaced by Guessand, the Gym No9 almost saw his replacement double the lead, but the No29's effort was again saved by Oukidja (81').

Despite Metz's pressure in added time, Les Niçois did not crack and leave Moselle with a narrow but precious victory.

After eight league games, Le Gym are still unbeaten!

Hugo Rondet