Amine Gouiri scored two late goals as Nice came from behind to win 2-1 at promoted Clermont to climb to provisional second in the table.
THE MATCH
Having lost at home to Montpellier before the international window, Nice could ill-afford another slip. For Clermont it was a familiar story of points lost as they fell for the fourth game running with the scenario reminiscent of their 3-2 loss at Saint-Etienne in Round 13, when they conceded two goals in added time.
Clermont performed superbly in the first half with Nice’s Walter Benitez – the stand-in captain for the suspended Dante – by far the busier of the two goalkeepers. Vital Nsimba (5’) and Johan Gastien (12’) had already tested the Argentinian before Clermont took a deserved lead (17’) when captain Florent Ogier headed in a Jason Berthomier free-kick with the aid of a post.
Salis Abdul Samed (40’) drew a full-length diving stop from Benitez with a shot from distance, before Gastien headed a Berthomier corner against the crossbar (41’). Having not existed as an attacking forced before half-time, Nice spriung to life at the start of the second half as Andy Delort (46’) had a chance.
Mohamed Bayo, Clermont’s top scorer with seven, had a couple of opportunities before Nice levelled (77’) as Gouiri’s volley beat Ligue 1 debutant Ouparine Djoco, who got hands to the ball. Djoco (81’) then produced a terrific stop to deny Delort before Gouiri netted the winner (82’). The forward was left unmarked from a Justin Kluivert corner and had time to chest the ball down before curling a magnificent shot into the top corner.
THE PLAYER: Amine Gouiri
With eight goals for the season, the France Under-21s star now has only Jonathan David of Lille (10) ahead of him in the division’s scoring chart. Gouiri netted 12 times in the league in his debut Nice campaign and is well on course to beat that haul. His double came after he shifted centrally from a starting position on the left, following Kasper Dolberg’s withdrawal.
THE STAT: 10
Nice have collected 10 points from losing positions this season and only leaders Paris Saint-Germain (12) have picked up more.