Facing Hull City in their final pre-season friendly, OGC Nice put in a strong performance but were unable to find the net despite creating several chances and dominating. A promising sign with a week to go before the start of the Ligue 1 season.

A successful final warm-up. As they have done throughout their pre-season preparations, the Aiglons put in a consistent and impressive performance this Saturday at the MKM Stadium. Facing a newly promoted team ready to return to the Premier League after a nine-year absence, Olivier Pantaloni’s side confirmed the promise shown since the start of the summer. Le Gym are solid and growing in strength as a team.

Once again playing in a 3-4-3 formation, with Everton and Victor Orakpo coming into the starting eleven from last week’s goalless draw against Cagliari (0–0), the Rouge et Noir were able to match the intensity and pressing imposed by the Tigers. Despite a very young midfield, with Djibril Coulibaly (17) alongside Everton (19), the visitors held their own and even dominated a first half marked by several clear-cut chances. Although Jonathan Clauss, slightly unbalanced by John Egan as he entered the box (8), was unable to finish off his first action, the Nice captain fired off the first shot of the game, only to miss the target (11').

As impressive as ever when building play from the back, the Aiglons once again stood out for their ability to break quickly on the counter-attack. Following a superb team move, Sofiane Diop, set up well by Melvin Bard, could have opened the scoring but was denied by Konstantínos Tzolákis (15'). Led by a very active Gauthier Hein up front in his second appearance in the Côte d’Azur colours, Le Gym took control of the game, finding themselves under threat mainly from set-pieces. Despite several corners and long-range free-kicks, Youssouf Ndayishimiye and his team never panicked, confident in their aerial strength. Once again partnering Antoine Mendy and Junior Mandza, the Burundian international led his side to a fourth clean sheet in five pre-season matches, a testament to Le Gym’s defensive solidity during this summer’s friendlies.

DIOUF DECISIVE, DIOP DANGEROUS

A statistic for which Yehvann Diouf also deserves much credit. Just as against Cagliari, Nice’s last line of defence shone between the posts, making a superb save from a powerful strike by Mohamed Belloumi early in the game (16') before saving his side with a fine reflex save on the line following a header from point-blank range (73'). But apart from these few tense moments, the Rouge et Noir remained in control throughout. This was an improvement on last week’s trip to Sardinia, where Le Gym failed to build on their strong start and faded physically in the second half.

Lacking a clinical edge in front of goal, Nice could have gone ahead just before half-time, when Victor Orakpo and Sofiane Diop both came up against Tzolákis in quick succession following a perfect cross from Jonathan Clauss (45'). Their collective efforts, such as the magnificent move started by Gauthier Hein’s outside-of-the-foot pass (56'), deserved a better result. Les Aiglons had to settle for another draw, which holds promise. It’s enough to allow them to look forward to the return of the league with ambition and confidence, next Saturday 22 August against Lorient at the Allianz Riviera (8:45 pm).

Hugo Rondet