Despite leading at the break, Les Aiglons were caught out at the start of the second half by an incisive Salzburg side.

For their seventh match of pre-season, Patrick Vieira’s side faced Red Bull Salzburg on Saturday. A match against a big team that is used to playing on the European stage (Austrian champions and winner of the domestic cup), brought Le Gym’s second training camp of the summer to a close. And the balance of the two halves couldn’t be more different.

Applied and rarely troubled in the first half, Coach Vieira’s side quickly took the lead. An inspired Amine Gouiri, linked up with Alexis Claude-Maurice from a corner and then craftily found the back of Stankovic’s net with a cross-shot (0-1, 6’). The remainder of the first 45 minutes remained balanced.

The second half quickly took another direction… With the whole side changed at the break (except for their goalkeeper), the Austrians piled on the pressure from the very get go. With almost complete control of the ball, the opposition cemented its domination of the proceedings with four goals in just over fifteen minutes.

A score that wouldn’t budge after the 62nd minute, despite Les Niçois’ reaction at the end of the match. In two weeks, Les Aiglons will kick off their league campaign against Lens at the Allianz Riviera. A week earlier, they will feature in one final friendly of the summer, against Stade Rennais (next Saturday, 7pm), also to be played at home.

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