October 20, (THEWILL) – Nantes and Nice played out a 1-1 draw in their Ligue 1 encounter at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Sunday. Despite holding the majority of possession throughout the game, Nice were unable to capitalise on their dominance, while Nantes’ defensive resilience kept the game competitive.
The home side took the lead through Mathis Abline in the 67th minute, thanks to an assist from Nigerian international Moses Simon, only for Nice to respond five minutes later with a goal from Evann Guessand, assisted by Sofiane Diop.
Both sides struggled to break the deadlock in a first half that offered limited attacking threats. Nantes had the majority of their opportunities in the second half, with seven of their eleven total shots hitting the target. Nice, however, maintained greater control of the game with 58% possession and managed 13 shots, with seven of those on target. Despite their greater shot total and possession, Nice could not find a way past Nantes’ goalkeeper Alban Lafont, who was awarded Player of the Match for his performance.
The key moment came in the 67th minute when Abline headed home from a Simon cross, energising the home crowd. However, Nice responded swiftly as Diop set up Guessand to equalise in the 72nd minute. The introduction of substitutes Sofiane Diop and Youssoufa Moukoko by Nice in the 68th minute had an immediate impact, helping to shift the momentum back in favour of the visitors.
The result leaves Nice in 8th place on the Ligue 1 table with 12 points, while Nantes sit just behind in 9th, with 10 points. Both teams will now look to improve on this performance in their upcoming fixtures as they aim to climb the league standings.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
