PLAYER RATINGS | Lille 2-1 Nice: Les Dogues claim third place in record breaking unbeaten streak | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonalds, Round 18, 17/01/2025

Third place was up for grabs for Lille OSC and OGC Nice after AS Monaco lost to Montpellier HSC earlier this evening. Nice were travelling in good form and would strike an early blow after Sofiane Diop opened the scoring, but it was the hosts that would come out the better side in an important 2-1 victory.

The Match

The visitors set the tone of the match in the third minute when when Gaëtan Laborde feinted in the box sending Thomas Meunier in the wrong direction and opening up a pocket of space to fire his shot at Lucas Chevalier. The Lille goalkeeper leapt into an acrobatic save to deny Laborde.

Lille looked to try and control possession but they were a poisoned combination of ponderous and sloppy. Nice took advantage of this and leapt on mistakes with incisive speed. A neat passing move in the final third saw Laborde set Sofiane Diop up for a shot. However, again, Chevalier was quick to deny the opportunity.

It would take a big mistake from Chevalier to allow Nice to open the scoring. The goalkeeper spilt Jonathan Clauss’s cross into the path of Diop. The attacker wasn’t going to pass up the gift and fired home.

Lille improved following the goal, but Nice almost made it two before the halftime whistle when Tanguy Ndombele latched onto a corner. The former Napoli man from point-blank range misfired and hit the crossbar.

Bruno Génésio swapped Rémy Cabella for Osame Sahraoui at halftime. The change was effective as the substitute swept forwards passing to Jonathan David who then shifted the ball onto Hákon Haraldsson. The Icelandic winger took his shot first time hitting the post before finding the back of the net.

In the 63rd minute, Lille would take charge of the game. Mitchel Bakker’s corner was dropped into the fray taking an unfortunate deflection of Clauss near the back post. The ball worked its way across the goal finding Bafodé Diakité at the near post where he powered his shot home.

Melvin Bard had an exceptional chance late in the game to rescue Nice’s efforts after Evann Guessand skipped into the box and spotted his run. However, the substitute would fire into the side netting. Nice had let the chance to go third slip from their fingers and instead, it would be Les Dogues who would finish the evening with a podium position and extended their record-breaking unbeaten streak to 21 games.

Lille Player Ratings

Lucas Chevalier – 6

A strange performance where he could have been marked far harsher for his mistake as it led to the opening goal. However, that would have ultimately been unfair considering he was also the reason why the score was only 1-0 after the first half. His saves before the goal were crucial and prevented Nice from running away with the game.

Ismaily – 5

Alexsandro – 7

Bafodé Diakité – 6

Thomas Meunier – 6

The most threatening player in the first half for Lille. His crosses were the only flash of danger in a disappointing 45 minutes. His influence faded in the second half, but it was generally a very good performance from the fullback.

Benjamin André – 6

Andre Gomes – 5

Mitchel Bakker – 6

Rémy Cabella – 4

Replaced at half-time by Osame Sahraoui (5).

Hákon Haraldsson – 8

The Icelandic international had another impressive evening for Les Dogues. His return from injury has been a blessing for the club. His goal fuelled the comeback victory for the hosts and kept the club on their 21-game unbeaten streak.

Jonathan David – 6

Nice Player Ratings

Marcin Bułka – 4

Ali Abdi – 6

Like most Nice players, his rating is highly informed by the first half where the visitors looked the far better side. Abdi was brilliant in the first 45 minutes. Dangerous in attack linking plays together and a menace in defence. His effectiveness waned as Lille grew into the game.

Dante – 4

Youssouf Ndayishimiye – 5

Jonathan Clauss – 5

Pablo Rosario – N/A

Replaced by Tanguy Ndombele (3) after suffering an injury early on.

Hicham Boudaoui – 5

Ali Cho – 5

Sofiane Diop – 6

Evann Guessand – 5

Gaëtan Laborde – 6

He started the game very strongly threatening Chevalier and proving to be a great creator as he linked well with Diop. However, Chevalier would prove too much for the forward.

GFFN | Nick Hartland