We’re not playing the victim, if that’s what you want to know.”

Those words come from Claude Puel. Spoken at a press conference, they respond to the implied question about the balance of power between a fierce Lille side and a Nice team seeking momentum, survival and excitement.

Behind that implication lies a clinical Opta stat: “Lille are currently the team on the best winning streak (4) and longest unbeaten run (9) in Ligue 1. LOSC have even won their last two matches by more than a two-goal margin (3–0 vs Lens, 4–0 at Toulouse), something they hadn’t done since October 2020, and they haven’t done better since December 2009 (4).” So, a formidable opponent, sitting in 3rd place in Ligue 1. Facing them is the Red and Black squad (15th), with its absentees (see below), its doubts, but also its desire to build on the comeback sparked last weekend against Le Havre.

Wahi en leader

Having arrived this winter, the striker has “almost become indispensable for us,” admits Claude Puel in an individual aside within an otherwise collective message. Wahi has scored 4 goals and provided 2 assists in 12 matches,  despite being sidelined for a month due to an injury suffered at Lyon, becoming an Ivory Coast international upon his return and contributing even more to his side than the stats suggest. Last Sunday, the number 11 was the one who sparked the comeback against Le Havre, equalising immediately after conceding, with anger, frustration, and precisio, but without it counting due to a correctly flagged offside: “(That goal) was important to show the opposing team that we were really in the match. And to show our team that we can score,” he explained to the media on Thursday. A goal as a sign of life: “I appreciated the reaction after the goal we conceded,” confirmed his coach. “That’s what must drive us daily and in all our matches. Whatever happens, even positive moments, we must respond the right way afterward.”

"GREAT CHALLENGES"

That draw maintained a 4-point lead for Nice over Auxerre, even if it didn’t give them breathing room ahead of a decisive week marked by three away matches: Lille (Saturday at 9.05pm), Strasbourg in the Coupe de France semi-final (Wednesday at 9pm), and Marseille (Sunday 26 April at 8:45pm). “We have a very interesting end to the season to play,” concludes Claude Puel, “because there are two very important objectives, and few teams have two. Survival remains the first and most important. It’s a competition, it’s something we really have to go after, against quality opponents. That’s how I see it, and I want my players to see it the same way. These are great challenges.”

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