OGC Nice suffered a 2-0 defeat against Rennes on Saturday night on Matchday 33 of Ligue 1. Ahead of hosting Brest next week for the final match of the season, Les Aiglons remain in 4th place.

It was a tough evening for Le Gym. Traveling to Roazhon Park to face Stade Rennais, Franck Haise's men were undone by a brace from Arnaud Kalimuendo. Clinical in front of goal, the French striker punished the Riviera defence—first by turning in a cross from Ludovic Blas from close range (1-0, 15'), then by finishing past Marcin Bułka late in the match (2-0, 80'). Locked in a tight race for the European places, Les Aiglons had actually started the match well on Rennes soil.

Lining up with the same eleven that beat Reims last weekend (Matchday 32, 1-0), with just one change—Evann Guessand returning to lead the line—Franck Haise's side played confident football in the opening 15 minutes, creating several chances. After a lovely chipped ball from Badredine Bouanani, Guessand nearly turned provider, but Ali Abdi’s powerful header at the far post grazed past the upright instead of finding the net (7’).

A dominant first half

Looking to exploit space behind the Breton defence, the Red and Black didn’t let Habib Beye's men’s clinical finishing discourage them. They came close to equalising when Antoine Mendy rose highest to head an Ali Abdi cross, only to be denied by Brice Samba’s post (21’). Moments later, the Rennes keeper—outstanding all night—stood firm to stop Guessand, who had broken through following a fine ball from Hicham Boudaoui (23’).

Nice’s pressure only increased around the half-hour mark, but Samba again stood tall to save Bouanani’s angled effort from the left side of the box (27’), and Jacquet managed to deny Guessand what looked like a sure equaliser into an open goal (32’).

Luck eludes Le Gym

Despite all their chances, Nice just couldn’t catch a break. Coach Haise made significant tactical changes at half-time, bringing on Dante, Gaëtan Laborde and Jeremie Boga, switching from the starting 3-5-2 to a more attacking 4-2-3-1. The move nearly paid off quickly, but Samba once again pulled off a crucial save, this time from a powerful strike by Boga on the edge of the area (57’).  In a further blow, a penalty awarded after Rouault’s late challenge on Boudaoui was overturned due to a very slight offside by Laborde at the start of the move (66’).

Somewhat rattled by this latest setback, the Red and Black eventually cracked in the dying moments as Kalimuendo broke through after Matusiwa won the ball high up the pitch (80’).

Le Gym remain fourth

Despite the loss, Nice hold on to fourth place in the league table. Though they can no longer mathematically climb higher, Dante and his teammates still control their destiny to finish in this spot and qualify for the Champions League qualifiers. To do so, they must wrap up the 2024-2025 campaign in style at the Allianz Riviera against Brest on Saturday 17 May (9pm).

Hugo Rondet