“When plan A doesn’t work, you need a better plan A,” said Nice manager Francesco Farioli before Sunday’s match against Toulouse. Les Aiglons’ latest defeat leaves the Italian in search of a new formula.
Nice have rarely been entertaining this season, but they have been efficient. When Farioli arrived in the summer, the defensive apparatus was already in place. Whilst Nice fell short of their objectives last season, finishing ninth in Ligue 1, only Lens had a better defensive record. A year earlier under Christophe Galtier, they had the joint-best record in the division.
“When we arrived, we found a team that was ready in the defensive domain. I know that the will not to concede is really in their DNA,” said Farioli earlier this season. Once again, Nice have the best defence in Ligue 1 and in Europe’s top five divisions, only Bayer Leverkusen and Internazionale, both top of their respective leagues, have a better record. However, for Nice, it is a record that comes at a cost.
“It’s true that at times we’re on the pitch and we tell ourselves we’ll never score. It’s hard mentally,” reacted defender Melvin Bard to last weekend’s draw against Clermont Foot, evoking Nice’s goal-scoring woes.
Only Metz and Clermont Foot have scored fewer than Nice this season and the lack of goals leaves them vulnerable to falling the wrong side of fine margins. The club have won eight Ligue 1 games by a one goal margin this season, however, they have now lost three in the last five, all by a one-goal margin. Without a win in their last five games, their surge towards the Champions League places has been halted.
The rigid, conservative structure implemented by Farioli has been Nice’s biggest strength, but it has now become a weakness with a lack of freedom and initiative in possession stifling the attacking potential within the side. Despite recent results, Farioli’s philosophy is based on, if not stifling that freedom, of which some of the squad’s attacking players thrive, then at least limiting it.
Quick Guide
Ligue 1 results
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Monaco 0-0 PSG, Clermont 1-5 Marseille, Reims 0-1 Lille, Lyon 0-3 Lens, Rennes 1-2 Lorient, Nantes 0-2 Metz, Montpellier 2-2 Strasbourg, Brest 1-0 Le Havre, Toulouse 2-1 Nice
“Against Clermont, after 25 minutes, we became too individualist. There was a frenzy; everyone wanted to shoot and score. In recent matches, we have lacked lucidity and patience after total domination. The match therefore becomes open and we no longer control anything – anything can happen. Being individualistic rather than collective exposes you to losing a match,” analysed Farioli after Nice’s 0-0 draw against bottom side Clermont Foot.
The Italian, much lauded since his arrival in the summer, is notably frustrated by his side’s attempts to replicate Youssouf Ndayishimiye’s 40-yard screamer against Montpellier earlier in February. “We spoke about Youssouf’s goal but it was a bit of an exceptional circumstance. At Lyon, we had situations where we chose to shoot, despite there being 10 other solutions and we found ourselves losing the ball and having to defend our own box,” said Farioli.
Farioli’s interpretation of his role sees him act as a puppeteer, and whilst there is room for individuals to make their own reading of the game, this is limited within the system, which in possession is highly predicated on defence.
Khéphren Thuram has been the biggest loser in this tactical shift away from Didier Digard, who privileged player autonomy. A languid ball-carrier who likes to burst through the lines, the Frenchman remained with Nice, despite interest during the summer transfer window. It was a decision made with an eye on the upcoming European Championships. However, rather than consolidate his place in Didier Deschamps’ France squad, he has slipped down the pecking order, with his major asset, his dribbling, masked within Nice’s structure.
Often found lurking in the block shadow in recent games, Thuram is a shadow of his former self. “We’ve got used to him playing great matches that when he is a step below, we see it,” said club captain Dante who, having watched the Frenchman rise from the academy, recognises Thuram’s potential to grab a game by the scruff of the neck.
Empowering Thuram and the other underperforming attacking players, notably Terem Moffi and Gaëtan Laborde, could be the key to Nice breaking this run of five games without a win, although such a move would naturally come at the expense of the structure that for large parts of the season, has served them so well.
Nice’s latest run of form will provide Farioli with food for thought and could perhaps instigate a re-evaluation of the balance between freedom and structure within his set-up.
Whilst this isn’t a “crisis” for Nice, according to Farioli, he did nonetheless call for the team to “wake-up” after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to a galvanised Toulouse. Despite losing three in their last four, the same total as the 20 previous games in Ligue 1, Nice remain fifth and on-track to reach their objective of a top six finish, synonymous with European qualification for next season.
However, momentum is no longer with them, and responding to setbacks hasn’t been their forte in recent times; Nice are the only team in Europe’s top five leagues not to have earned a single point when they have gone behind in a match this season. A more general comeback is now required.
Talking points
The longest ongoing winless run in Ligue 1 is over. FC Metz hadn’t won since 26th November 2023 and that series of results (nine defeats, one draw) has left them in crisis. Fans stormed the pitch after last weekend’s defeat to Lyon and calls for Laszlo Bölöni to resign have grown louder. The Romanian, however, seems immovable, and having signed a contract extension at the start of the campaign, the club reportedly can’t afford to sack him. It remains to be seen whether Metz can dig themselves out of trouble, but if they are to do so, Georges Mikautadze will have a significant role to play. The Georgian forward returned to Les Grenats after a failed spell at Ajax, and despite not playing for the club for half the season, he is their top-scorer. His latest goal in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Nantes gives Metz hope heading into the run-in.
Kylian Mbappé took a trip down memory lane, perhaps for the final time, when he returned to face formative club AS Monaco on Friday. However, this leg of the Mbappé farewell tour was a short one, with the Frenchman substituted at half-time in PSG’s 0-0 draw. Post-match, Luis Enrique explained that it was a tactical decision to withdraw Mbappé and repeated that PSG “have to get used to playing without Mbappé sooner or later.” A divide is certainly forming at PSG, and whilst it is unlikely to see them reeled-in in Ligue 1, it could certainly impact their Champions League campaign, where players like the seemingly disgruntled Mbappé make the difference.
