PLAYER RATINGS | OGC Nice 2-0 Montpellier: Le Gym bolster Champions League hopes, MHSC’s relegation fears worsen | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 23, 23/02/25

OGC Nice registered their third win on the bounce as they dispatched relegation-threatened Montpellier HSC at a canter (2-0) to retake their place on the podium.

The Match

Nice’s almost complete domination of the match was not reflected in the scoreline at the end of the first half. There was a wastefulness, which began with an early effort from Evann Guessand being saved by Benjamin Lecomte and continued even after Jonathan Clauss opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, latching onto a ball over the top from Guessand, before finishing from a tight angle into the bottom corner, via the inside of the post.

Gaëtan Laborde, so prolific of late, scuffed a golden chance from a Guessand cutback, seeing his unpressured effort from near the penalty spot dribble harmlessly wide. Guessand too, so efficient of late, was out of sorts too, blasting an effort over. It was a more difficult effort than the ones that preceded it but the Ivorian should have tested Lecomte.

There was no revolt from Montpellier in the second half, who did little to try and restore parity, happy to cede possession and authority without ever truly looking to punish Le Gym on the break. After a combination of a Guessand air kick and a poor Cho effort on the rebound saw another chance go begging, Nice did double their lead just after the hour mark.

Once again, it was Guessand at the heart of things in the build-up as it was his burst of pace that allowed him to get in behind and play the ball across to Cho. Whilst his effort was blocked, the ball fell to Laborde, who had the composure to lay it back to Boudaoui for a simple side-footed finish.

There were chances for Nice to add to their advantage further, with Cho curling just over, but the home side didn’t need to overly exert themselves, and so didn’t. Ndiaye Junior provided a late scare, the MHSC substitute striking the bar from close range, but the two goals were enough to see them retake their place on the podium and keep them in a strong position to ensure qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Nice player ratings

Marcin Bulka – 4

Dante – 5

Moïse Bombito – 5

Youssouf Ndayishimiye – 5

Ali Abdi – 5

Baptiste Santamaria – 3

Certainly Santamaria’s worst game since arriving at Nice over the winter. He is at his best when he keeps the game simple and he didn’t do that, opting all too often for an overly ambitious option and losing the ball when there were simpler and still dangerous options available to him. He also lost the ball too often in duels, including one dangerous turnover that saw Tanguy Coulibaly shoot just wide in what was one of Montpellier’s best chances of the game.

Hicham Boudaoui – 7

Jonathan Clauss – 7

Mohamed-Ali Cho – 4

Gaëtan Laborde – 5

Evann Guessand – 6

Not at his efficient best, missing a couple of good chances that we have become accustomed to seeing him slot away but still at the heart of both goals, getting the assist for the first and showing a burst of pace to get in behind and put the ball across for Cho for the second.

Montpellier selected player ratings

Théo Sainte Luce – 2

Absolutely everything came down his side and – as a unit – there was an inability to break up the combinations between Clauss, Boudaoui and Guessand. Sainte Luce, completely at sea throughout, has a fair share of responsibility to shoulder for that.

Yaël Mouanga – 2

Tanguy Coulibaly – 5

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from NIce