After falling behind to a litigious Santini penalty in the 42^nd minute, the Aiglons piled the pressure on Caen but couldn't close the gap. Despite being beaten in the league for the first time this season, Nice remain clear in first place on the Ligue 1 table.

Robust from the outset, Caen (18^th) were out to send a message on Sunday afternoon: they were no lambs to the slaughter. Frustrated by their European defeat, the Aiglons were in a battle to recapture their momentum and their ingenuity, faced with a Norman defence packed in like sardines.
A solid defensive unit, tough to penetrate and almost as tough to get around for Nice's 4-3-3. 
Despite the return of Dalbert, which allowed Ricardo to return to the right flank, Nice failed to threaten adequately from wide positions. Lucien Favre's men were too sloppy, not mobile enough and distracted by the at-times disconcerting refereeing and thus struggled to link up as well as they are used to doing. They seemed bogged down, and this impression lasted into the second half and despite the switch to a 4-4-2 with Belhanda as playmaker in a diamond midfield.

The woodwork for Balotelli

On top of sticking well to their game plan, Caen also proved somewhat fortunate, notably as they opened the scoring. A few minutes before the break, Rodelin pounced on Sarr's losing possession and burst into the area. A penalty was awarded for Dalbert's tackle (42') and Santini converted from the spot to give Caen a lead that was far from undeserved but from which the questionable nature of the Brazilian's foul detracted.

Encouraged by this positive turn of events, the Normans looked to strike again while the iron was still hot. Cardinale had to stretch to save from Guilbert's header and Nice had to work extremely hard as they looked to hit back over the last 35 minutes.

Alassane Plea and Mario Balotelli both went close to bringing the two sides back to level terms, the former conjuring a curler that went narrowly wide before the latter fired and angled shot that hit the post. In both cases, it was Belhanda who had set up the opportunity. There were no better chances in the match for Nice, but the Aiglons kept the pressure up right to the final whistle but, unlike on their trip to Montpellier, they couldn't find the goal that would spare them from a first defeat of the season.

---