Team Focus: Stylish Nice Once Again Shine on the Road

They may be separated by a 250km ferry ride, but when Nice and Bastia meet, it’s a derby. That is the feeling on both the Côte d’Azur and the northeastern coast of Corsica and accordingly, sparks tend to fly when the pair come together.  

After some unsavoury incidents surrounding recent meetings between the sides, the provincial authorities in Haute-Corse stepped in, forbidding Nice supporters “or anybody behaving like one” (as per the préfecture’s statement) from driving or parking near the Furiani around Saturday night’s match, let alone coming into the stadium itself as a spectator. Yet if there was calm in the stands for this latest edition of an unusual rivalry, there were plenty of oscillations in events on the field.  

Having failed to garner the results that their exciting play so far this season has perhaps deserved, it was Nice who best found the moments of clarity and control needed to decide the game in their favour. They now also stand alone as the most prolific side away from home in Ligue 1 so far, with 7 goals scored. 

It was an evening of surprises in Corsica, with Nice ignited by Nampalys Mendy of all people, as the holding midfielder scored a superb equaliser from range for his first-ever goal in his 184th match at professional level. The most remarkable element about this latest win for Claude Puel’s side was the fact that two of the pieces of his attacking triumvirate didn’t fire as they can. Valère Germain was the exception, scoring a tidy first-half goal to put Les Aiglons in front after they had trailed. 

The remaining pair - Hatem Ben Arfa and Alessane Pléa - were not quite their normal selves, and were both substituted in the second half. As soon as an incredulous Pléa wasn’t awarded an early penalty after being upended by goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca, he probably knew it wasn’t going to be his night. Yet this was more a night for graft and stability than for Nice’s front trio to break out their party pieces.  

Nice only just edged the shot count (9 to 8) but got an impressive 6 efforts on target, with Bastia’s relatively meagre 2 paling in comparison. The visitors also enjoyed a better pass success rate (73%) and won 56% of the match’s aerial duels. By doing the basic chores well, Puel’s team earned themselves the right to have a bit of fun. Germain was the epitome of this efficiency, with all of his 3 efforts on goal hitting the target.  

Even if Germain underlined his growing importance to Nice - he now has 3 goals and 1 assist in 6 games for his temporary employers - this was really a night for the less heralded. After a frantic opening period in which goalkeeper Mouez Hassen almost gifted an opener to Brandão before Gaël Danic drove in a superb opener for Bastia, Mendy in particular was key in bringing calm to the ranks. 

The 23-year-old made no secret of the fact that he wanted to leave the Allianz Riviera in the summer, but he has not sulked, and was again a fine defensive shield, making 2 tackles and 3 interceptions, beside offering the more headline-grabbing contribution of his blockbusting goal. His combination with teenager Vincent Koziello, who made 6 tackles without committing a single foul, was a vital and profitable one. 

The most unlikely - and even more useful - heroes were Puel’s full-backs. They have been a pair of positions to give the coach potential headaches, with last season’s outstanding performer Jordan Amavi, who gained an average rating of 7.74 and won 8 WhoScored man of the match awards, sold to Aston Villa and Puel’s own son Grégoire moving on to Le Havre after enduring a testy relationship with the club’s fans. 

Amavi’s current replacement is an unusual one. Ricardo Pereira - or simply Ricardo, as he’s known back home - made his name as a winger at Guimarães, most notably scoring the winner in the 2013 Taça de Portugal final against Benfica in the final leg of the Lisbon giants’ epic implosion that season. Facing stiff competition for a place after his move to Porto, he often filled in at right-back, where he also starred for Portugal’s under-21 side at this summer’s Euros, but not on the left. 

Based on the evidence of his performance at Bastia, maybe more right-footed wingers should chance their luck at playing left-back. Ricardo was sensational, rating 8.61 for a match in which he provided 2 assists, but also excelled defensively, making an extraordinary 7 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 clearances. Speaking at his official presentation, Ricardo said that he hoped inheriting the number 23 shirt of Alexy Bosetti - a Nice ultra turned first-team forward - would “bring me luck”. It seems to have to filled him with Bosetti’s indomitable spirit as well. 

The story on the other side is barely less remarkable. Another winger, Jérémy Pied arrived back in the summer from a loan spell at Guingamp with just a year left on his deal and unwanted. Left out of the first two matches, he was named on the bench for the home game with Caen, until centre-back Maxime Le Marchand was injured in the warm-up, meaning Kevin Gomis was switched into the middle and Pied drafted in at right-back. “For the first time in an official match,” according to the player himself, “I was knackered by half-time.”  

Pied has excelled since, with both he and Ricardo probably the ideal full-backs for a formation which - like so many in Ligue 1 - is essentially a 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond in practice. The full-backs/wingers give the breadth that the diamond takes away, as we can see on WhoScored’s player average position map.  

This also means that Nice, as well as moving towards being a nicely rounded team, are rich with offensive potential. At this rate, they might even keep their tag as Ligue 1’s entertainers on the road.

Can Nice maintain their fine form away from home this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below