As often this season, a lot has happened in recent days on the French Riviera, where Niçois performances are worrying internally. Fifteenth with 27 points, Nice must beat Le Havre, a team ahead of them in the standings, this Sunday (5:15 p.m.) during the 29th day of Ligue 1.
“I hope and aspire that on Sunday, we will be a team. If we are not, we will not win,” warns captain Morgan Sanson. Since Claude Puel took over the Eagles, they have recorded two victories and ten points in 12 matchdays. Only Metz and Nantes have fared worse.
“The alarm has therefore been reactivated. At Strasbourg, without waiting for the return to Nice, the players spoke their truth in the dressing room. “We shouldn’t let this pass,” clarifies Sanson.
At halftime in Alsace, Nice was losing 3-0. Sanson then let go of his frustrations on the broadcaster’s microphone, expressing his personal frustration. “If I had to do it again, I would do the same, that was my feeling,” he explains. Indeed, in the dressing room, he was even more blunt.
“What I said on camera was only a quarter of what I said to the rest of the group,” he admits. Several players spoke up, and it made things happen. What was said at halftime or after the match, not many will forget quickly.
Meanwhile, Puel spoke to the players, as did some members of the staff. After that, the group isolated itself, and the door of the locker room was closed. Yehvann Diouf, among others, took over to address the issues. Previously with Reims, the Senegalese goalkeeper experienced a similar situation, reaching a cup final (Nice will face Strasbourg in the semi-final on April 22) but also suffering relegation to Ligue 2.
Many players were confronted with their contradictions, starting with Sofiane Diop and Isak Jansson, who were substituted at halftime and did not return to the bench. Juma Bah, who was also replaced, remained with a physio. Diop and Jansson were sanctioned.
“There was a lot of passion,” admits Puel, whose role is “to pay attention to anything that could be contrary to collective expression.” “There are standards, they are applied,” he indicates. “It has been settled. Mistakes can happen. I hope it won’t happen again, because we are all in the same boat,” insists Sanson.
