The equalizer from Niçois Ali Abdi at the end of the match Saturday night at the Allianz Riviera (1-1) dashed Lens’ title dreams, as they remain six points behind leaders PSG. While PSG had a slip-up earlier in the 32nd round of Ligue 1, drawing against Lorient (2-2) on Saturday afternoon, Pierre Sage’s men failed to capitalize.
The Escape of Saint-Maximin Even if they defeat Nantes next Friday in the opening match of the 33rd round, it is uncertain whether the postponed Lens-PSG match from the 29th round rescheduled for May 13 will become the true final of the competition eagerly awaited in Artois. This is all due to Tunisian Abdi, who, with his usual goal sense, followed the free kick won and taken by Sofiane Diop at the edge of the box. It was the 84th minute of a tightly contested but often controlled match by Lens.
For a long time, it seemed that the goal scored by Allan Saint-Maximin (60th) on a quick counter while the Azure defense was poorly organized, would change the course of the end of the season.
But with Lens staying put at 64 points in the title race, Nice’s single point could prove decisive in the battle to avoid relegation. The Aiglons will now hope for a victory from Angers on Sunday against Auxerre, currently six points behind them, before they travel to Yonne next Sunday.
Nice solid defensively Sage’s men wasted no time attacking Yehvann Diouf’s goal. Odsonne Edouard quickly put the ball into the net on a pivot in the box (4th). Then Mamadou Sangaré, found in retreat, saw Kojo Pepprah Oppong deflect his shot to a corner (6th). A little later, his curled left-footed shot narrowly missed the top corner, beating a beaten Diouf (22nd).
And it was on a corner from Tom Louchet that the Aiglons had their only real chance before Lens’ goal. But even isolated, Juma Bah failed to beat Robin Rissert (17th). After that goal, they did not give up, and thanks to Abdi, they snatched a well-deserved point.
Fueled by their recent good results (against Lille 0-0, Marseille 1-1, and Strasbourg in the Cup 2-0), the Aiglons showed a real defensive strength throughout the first half. Like Melvin Bard’s excellent return to thwart a Matthieu Udol turned striker for a moment (19th), the Niçois managed to thwart all of Sang et Or’s attacks before halftime.
