At the end of a second period disputed without great rhythm, everything indicated that Nice and Parisians could be satisfied with a 0-0 which preserved the interests of all.
But the Aiglons wanted a little more and went to steal a ball from Neymar’s feet. On the left side, Stengs sent a very good cross towards Delort, whose volley left no chance for Navas, chosen on Saturday rather than Donnarumma (1-0, 88th).
This success offers second place in the standings to the Niçois, who are two points ahead of OM before their match on Sunday against Monaco. It also crowns the superb week of the players of Christophe Galtier, qualified Tuesday for the final of the Coupe de France.
The Aiglons also managed the feat of completing a third match without a goal against Paris (0-0 in the first leg and in the round of 16 of the Cup).
Paris, for its part, remains the leader, of course, with still a gigantic lead of 13 points over its new runner-up. But this third defeat of the season in the league falls badly, four days before the return match against Real (1-0 victory in the first leg), a meeting which could, in the event of failure, virtually end the Parisian season, from less take away all flavor.
No injuries
Saturday in Nice, Paris in any case produced very little, even if that was probably not the point and Mauricio Pochettino will at least be satisfied to return without injuries.
Very balanced, the first period was launched by Gouiri, author of a good shot from the 2nd minute, in the noise and the still smoky atmosphere of firecrackers and fireworks from the Tribune Populaire Sud.
Most of Nice’s movements then came from a very strong left side, with Gouiri, Thuram and Bard who regularly martyred Kehrer.
On the Parisian side, Pochettino had left a few men to rest before the summit in Madrid. Kimpembe thus gave way to Diallo, whom we had not seen on the pitch in the Parisian jersey since mid-December, when he was not yet African champion with Senegal.
Wijnaldum and Bernat were also established rather than Gueye and Nuno Mendes, but it is of course the absence of Mbappé, suspended, that we noticed the most.
90 minutes for Neymar
Deprived of the top floor of its rocket, the Parisian game was considerably lacking in relief, especially since no one really tried to make people believe that this stay in Nice had the same importance as the duel expected at the Bernabeu.
On the right, Di Maria probably did not do enough to convince his coach to start him on Wednesday rather than Neymar. The two men were still involved on the best Parisian occasion of the first period, with a fantastic opening from the Brazilian for the Argentinian, who could have done better in front of Benitez (9th).
Positive: Neymar has played 90 minutes for the first time since his return. Messi, he continued his discovery of the strong of the L1. Todibo then Lemina or Thuram thus showed him with their shoulder that they were not intimidated. The former Barcelonan’s passing game is a treat but he too did very little, especially after the break.
In the second period, the best Parisian opportunity, also the only one, came from a deflected shot from Icardi (82nd). Nice had done more, via a header from Dante (48th), a deflected shot from Gouiri (68th) and a crushed shot from Kluivert (84th).
The Parisian balance sheet is therefore very meager. But Wednesday there will be Mbappé and it is possible that that will change everything.
