Terem Moffi grabbed his first goals for OGC Nice and they cruised past AS Monaco 3-0 in the Derby de la Côte d'Azur on Sunday.
THE MATCH
Nice made the short journey along the French Riviera to Monaco in ninth, six places and 12 points worse off than their hosts, but they got off to an electric start at the Stade Louis II. Dante sent a long ball over the top for Moffi, and the on-loan FC Lorient man comfortably finished off his first Nice goal (8'). With Vanderson and Ruben Aguilar both injured, Monaco had switched to a back three, but it made for a breakdown in communication where it mattered, and Moffi doubled his and his side's tally soon after with a carbon copy of the first goal, only this time Khéphren Thuram playing the long ball forward (25'). Aaron Ramsey then made way for Pablo Rosario due to injury (35') but with Thuram pulling the strings in midfield the Welshman's absence wasn't problematic. Thuram created the next goal, which he scored, winning the ball around the half-way line and finding Moffi, who then cut back to him to steer home the pick of the first-half strikes (43').
Not so Nice for Monaco
Monaco manager Philippe Clement made four changes at the break, sending on Wissam Ben Yedder, Aleksandr Golovin, Caio Henrqiue and Edan Diop in an attempt to turn the tide, but Nice nearly pulled further clear little more than 10 minutes after the restart, with a familiar-looking chance. This time Thuram was on the receiving end of a lofted pass, and his chest then volley was well saved by Alexander Nubel (57'). Moffi then had an ambition attempt at completing his hat-trick with a left-footed volley from range, but Nubel was more than equal to the attempt (67'). Monaco has a good chance to pull one back late on when Krépin Diatta picked out Henrique at the back post, but the Brazilian screwed his effort wide of the far post (80') and it ended 3-0 to Nice. Didier Digard's men climb two places to seventh with the win. Monaco remain third.
THE PLAYER: Terem Moffi
While Thuram also deserves special praise, this was the breakout performance from Moffi that Nice fans have been waiting for. The Nigerian has been a goal-fiend for Lorient in recent seasons, scoring 12 from 18 games in the first half of the current campaign, but he has taken some time to get going with les Aiglons. Moffi is on loan with an obligation to buy for €30 million at the end of the season, so some senior figures at the club might also have breathed a sigh of relief today.
THE STAT: 2
Moffi is the first player to score two goals or more at Monaco since Mario Balotelli bagged a brace in a 2-2 draw at the Stade Louis II back in January 2018. Radamel Falcao and Adama Diakhaby got the principality side's goals that day.
Stade de Reims 3-0 Toulouse FC
Elsewhere, Junya Ito starred as Stade de Reims eased past Toulouse FC 3-0 Stade Auguste-Delaune, the Japan forward scoring the opener before assisting subsequent goals from Marshall Munetsi and Yunis Abdelhamid.
The Champagne club are undefeated in 15 games since Will Still succeeded Oscar Garcia as head coach.
AC Ajaccio 2-1 ESTAC Troyes
AC Ajaccio gave their survival hopes a shot in the arm, meanwhile, beating ESTAC Troyes 2-1 for their first win in four Ligue 1 Uber Eats outings - the previous three having been defeats.
A Youcef Belaïli penalty and Mounaïm El Idrissy tap-in saw the Corsicans battle back from Mama Baldé's opener. Baldé was also sent off late on.
FC Lorient 0-1 AJ Auxerre
Earlier in the day, AJ Auxerre beat FC Lorient 1-0 at the Stade du Moustoir, with Rayan Raveloson getting the only goal of the game. The 1996 French champions are outside of the relegation zone, above Ajaccio, by virtue of goals scored.
Clermont Foot 63 1-1 RC Strasbourg
Clermont Foot 63 and RC Strasbourg Alsace also played out a 1-1 draw at the Stade Gabriel Montpied on Sunday afternoon, with Elba Rashani rescuing a share of the points for the hosts after le Racing had opened the scoring through Habib Diallo.
