Nobody tends to say that Claude Puel sides lack commitment and in that sense, Nice are a case in point. “On Saturday night against Sochaux, Nice played with eleven players,” wrote Monday’s L’Equipe, “but with two players on one leg, or almost.”
Their problems were at either end of the pitch. Both winning goalscorer Éric Bauthéac and goalkeeper David Ospina are recovering from the same injury; a twisted right knee with a partial ligament rupture. Bauthéac spoke after the game of being unable to strike the ball with his weaker (right) foot at the moment. Meanwhile Ospina is unable to take goal kicks, with central defenders Mathieu Bodmer and Nemanja Pejcinovic alternating kicking duties against Sochaux.
It’s exactly the sort of bravery that Puel needs right now. The surprise team of last season, Nice finished fourth in their first campaign under the former Lille and Lyon coach’s guidance, but had nosedived since. They went out in the play-off round of the Europa League – having qualified for Europe for the first time in 16 years – but recent form was more worrying. Seven successive Ligue 1 defeats had seen them drop into the table’s bottom third.
Before this nightmarish trot, it appeared that they had recovered from the early season struggles, which kicked off with a 4-0 hiding by Lyon in the opening game. There were extenuating circumstances for that one; Puel had both his first-choice centre-backs unavailable – with midfielder Didier Digard having to locum in central defence – among a plague of injuries, with last season’s top scorer Dario Cvitanich also absent.
There have been reminders since that the quality is there. The 2-0 win at Lille in mid-September, for example, saw Vincent Enyeama beaten for the final time until his astonishing run of going without conceding a goal was halted by Bordeaux’s Landry N’Guemo last week. Puel’s side were excellent that afternoon in the consummate away performance. Cvitanich struck both goals, which were both created by Christian Brüls, with the Belgian playing just off the centre-forward.
Yet that match aside, a cutting edge has often been in short supply. Nice hit 57 in Ligue 1 last season, with only four teams scoring more. To this point in 2013/14, only Sochaux and Ajaccio have scored less – and many believe that those two are doomed already.
It shouldn’t be this way. Les Aiglons have had the fourth-highest proportion of possession in Ligue 1 matches this season, with an average share of 54.2%. Only Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Lille have seen more of the ball in this league campaign to date.
They again dominated possession on Saturday, with 56%, and put it to good use, having 11 shots, including 6 on target. The visitors, meanwhile, failed to draw a single save from Ospina. The biggest danger posed to the home side was from their nerves, something reflected in their inability to put the game to bed earlier against opponents plainly of an inferior class.
Cvitanich has been doing all he can, scoring 7 of his team’s 15 league goals – or 46.6% of the total. The burden he shoulders is apparent when you consider that Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s combined total of goals and assists for PSG represents only fractionally more (47.6%) than that proportion of the leaders’ goal tally. Unhappy when he perceived that the club reneged on a promise to improve his contract in the summer, it is obvious why Nice are loathed to lose Cvitanich.
The lone striker had 43 touches against Sochaux. Of Nice’s outfield players, only Grégoire Puel (35) had less, but this is not necessarily significant. An old-fashioned penalty box predator, Cvitanich is at his best when he is at his most economical. When scoring that brace against Lille in September, he had just 26 touches in the whole 90 minutes, but scored with both of his efforts on target.
As it stands, the supporting cast are not pulling their weight. After a bright start to his career in France, Brüls has faded, providing only 1 assist and 1 goal outside the win at Lille and recalling the inconsistency for which he was famed back home. Yet the 25-year-old should not be the only creative outlet.
Bauthéac’s goal was a reminder of how vital he is to a healthy Nice, but he has only been able to start 9 times so far this season. He had been one of the mainstays of last campaign, scoring 9 and providing another 7 assists. It is hard to criticise a player who is clearly shirking nothing in an effort to turn his team’s fortunes around, but his average key pass count of 0.8 per game is a big drop-off from last season’s 1.6. A return to form by Valentin Eysseric would also help. He scored 5 and assisted 1 goal before his 2012/13 ended prematurely when he received a lengthy ban for his horrific tackle on Saint-Etienne’s Jérémy Clément in March.
While Puel figures how to reinvigorate the offensive sector of the side, he can at least rely on Bodmer and Pejcinovic. Pejcinovic – Nice’s highest-rating player this season on WhoScored - had a huge role in keeping Sochaux quiet, making 9 interceptions and completing all 12 clearances he attempted. Bodmer, a favourite of Puel from Lille and Lyon, is a converted midfielder and could eventually give Nice an expansiveness that the departed Renato Civelli couldn’t. As well as his 10 interceptions and 5 tackles, Bodmer made 2 key passes and the assist for Bauthéac’s goal. Nice have often struggled this season when this pair have not manned central defence, so keeping them fit is paramount.
Ospina’s presence is a boon too; young Lucas Veronese has attracted unwanted attention while standing in for him with some high-profile errors, and ranks last in Nice’s performers in the WhoScored ratings table.
So what does Puel need to do to push his side back up the table and ensure the new Allianz Riviera has a team to match its magnificent surrounds? Simply, don’t let any of their key players get injured again – in other words, the same as always for a club of their size.
Can Nice turn around their form and climb the Ligue 1 table? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
