Aaron Ramsey made an immediate impact on his debut for OGC Nice, coming off the bench to score the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Toulouse FC on Sunday.
Toulouse FC 1-1 OGC Nice
THE MATCH
Ligue 2 champions Toulouse were eager to make an impression on their return to the top flight after a two-year absence, and Philippe Montanier’s side started strongly in the sunshine at Le Stadium with new signing Thijs Dallinga showing up well. The top scorer in the Dutch second tier last season with Excelsior Rotterdam, he might have opened the scoring in the 17th minute when he was sent through on goal only to see goalkeeper Marcin Bułka deflect his shot onto a post.
However, Dallinga did open his Ligue 1 Uber Eats account four minutes later when he darted in between Dante and Bułka to meet Branco van den Boomen’s dangerous cross from the left with a neat flick (21’).
Nice did respond to that and Calvin Stengs struck the bar after working his way into a shooting position before the interval, yet it took some second-half alterations for Lucien Favre’s side to find the equalising goal.
With Toulouse starting to flag in the stifling heat, Favre had already switched up his attack with the introductions of Romanian prospect Rares Ilie and Billal Brahimi, while Amine Gouiri was withdrawn. Then Ramsey came on for Stengs and within moments of his introduction he had scored, appearing in the penalty box to finish high into the net after some excellent work by Brahimi (78’).
With Kasper Schmeichel watching from the bench following his arrival from Leicester City, Nice could have won the game in stoppage time but Maxime Dupé produced a fine save to keep out Mario Lemina’s header. A draw was the right result, however.
THE PLAYER: Aaron Ramsey
The 31-year-old Wales star is looking to relaunch his career after a disappointing spell at Juventus came to an end. It was certainly a memorable debut for the former Arsenal man, as he scored within seconds of coming off the bench at Le Stadium. He will be hoping for more of the same as he looks to build up his form and fitness before going to the World Cup with his country.
THE STAT: 19
Toulouse have now gone 19 Ligue 1 games without a win. Their last top-flight victory came against LOSC Lille in October 2019.
