To fill the international break, OGC Nice played a friendly against AS Monaco on Friday. After leading 2-0 through goals from Rony Lopes and Evann Guessand, the Aiglons finally went down 3-2.

While the Gym's internationals were away with their countries (Lotomba, Thuram, Ndoye, Gouiri and Dolberg), Patrick Vieira took advantage to name a fresh-faced line-up that also included those players who had not featured heavily in the opening two league games of the season. Flavius Daniliuc was at centre-back alongside Stanley Nsoki with Patrick Burner and Théo Pionnier on either side. In the middle of the pitch, Alexis Trouillet was joined by Eddy Sylvestre and Soudeysse Kari, while the attack was made up of Salim Ben Seghir, Evann Guessand and Rony Lopes.

It was the Portuguese who stood out in the first half, scoring his first goal in a Rouge-et-Noir shirt just 12 minutes in, touching home Ben Seghir's ball from the left from close range (1-0). He then sent a free-kick just wide before teeing up his young strike partners, Sylvestre and Ben Seghir, for opportunities, but both were denied by Monaco 'keeper Gabriel Pereira.

Guessand quickly doubled Le Gym's lead though. Racing onto Trouillet's through ball, the youth academy product coolly claimed his maiden strike for the first team (2-0, 14').

The second half was a different story after Monaco tweaked tactically with half-time substitute Gelson Martins the catalyst as he had a hand in all three goals. It was his shot that ricocheted into the net off Daniliuc to halve Le Gym's lead (2-1, 58'), and he then equalised with a right-foot shot (2-2), 73') before delivering the cross for Onyekuru to head home the third (2-3, 88').

Le Gym's next outing comes on Saturday, 12 September, in Montpellier where they'll play their third match of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats season (kick-off 17.00CEST)

The match in pictures :

 

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Soudeysse Kari

Evann Guessand​

Alexis Trouillet

Eddy Sylvestre

Salim Ben Seghir

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