Defeated by Lyon in a match that came to life in the final minutes, Le Gym saw their run in the Coupe de France come to an end in the Round of 16 (1-2). Les Niçois will face Les Gones again on Sunday in the league (kick-off at 3pm).

Against a side who have historically been a good opponent for Le Gym in the Coupe de France (3 qualifications in 4 encounters until now), the Niçois were initially denied possession of the ball.

And while early attempts for Lyon went over the bar (Lucas, 7’) or were easily dealt with by Benitez (Tousart, 10’), the first real chance of the game was at the other end.

Boudaoui, making his return to the Nice starting eleven, was played in behind the Lyon defence by Cyprien, but his effort was no trouble for Tatarusanu (14’). In the minutes that followed, the Niçois were punished. Cornet’s cross from the left found Dembélé, and with the outside of his right foot, he found the back of the net to take the lead (0-1, 15').

Patrick Vieira’s side lacked inspiration against Rudi Garcia’s solid set-up - with five at the back when the home side had the ball - but they came close when Ganago struck from the edge of the box (19’).

Bit by bit, Les Aiglons found their spirit. In the 25th minute, Ganago’s cross couldn’t trouble Tatarusanu’s goal. Immediately after, Dolberg was just beaten to the ball in the box by Andersen after a good cross in from Ounas. 

In the dying moments of the first half, OGC Nice continued in good shape. After some smart play with Herelle on the right and a good cross into the box from the defender, Cyprien saw his side-footed effort turned away for a corner (37’).

Just seconds ahead of heading into the dressing rooms for the break, the former Lens midfielder was forced off through injury. Thuram came on in his place.

After half-time, Lees-Melou was the first person to prove dangerous, finding the target with a header that lacked power (69’). The Red and Blacks were more incisive in the final quarter of an hour and forced Les Gones into making fouls. In the 88th minute, Ounas scored the equaliser with a beautiful piece of control from Dante’s pass, and sent the Allianz Riviera into pandemonium with his left-footed effort (1-1). Unfortunately, Aouar took no time at all to turn things around, from a penalty given away by Dante and he got the equaliser from the spot (1-2, 90'+1).

Mr. Schneider blew the final whistle that marked the end of the road for Le Gym’s Coupe de France campaign (1-2).

M.S​.

The match in photos

 

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