PSG-Nice: match notes

Continuation and end of the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France. Two weeks after the qualifications of Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Rennais and Valenciennes, there was still one ticket to distribute to find out the last guest of the last four. A semi-final which promises to be tough since the winner of this clash knew that he would host Rennes. At a time when the money time of the PSG season has arrived, Luis Enrique has logically aligned the big armada to get rid of the Aiglons. Substitutes against Reims, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé returned to the Ile-de-France eleven, while Warren Zaire-Emery played at right back. On the Nice side, Francesco Farioli found a competition dear to the OGCN. Unable to win a match for five games, the Riviera club must go back to the round of 16 of the Coupe de France against Montpellier to find the trace of a victory.

And his start to the match didn’t really suggest a favorable scenario. From the outset the Parisians had control of the ball. The leather was circulating in all directions, Nice had no say and the first Ile-de-France opportunities arrived, like this header from Gonçalo Ramos on a shot from Fabian Ruiz that went past Marcin Bulka’s left post (5th). Vitinha’s partners occupied all the spaces and their all-terrain pressing hurt the Aiglons. It was also following a ball recovered near the Nice area that Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring, after a very nice exchange with Ruiz (1-0, 15th). Three minutes later, Ramos should have made the break, but the Portuguese completely missed alone in front of the opposing goal despite a caviar from Mendes (18th). The scenario was repeated shortly after, but this time, with Zaire-Emery in the role of the almost decisive passer (24th). The Gym was stifled, cornered and above all powerless against the Parisians who were dominant, but not effective. In the 25th minute, a new exchange between Ruiz and Mbappé ended on the post and seven minutes later, Dembélé’s three-cross attempt grazed Bulka’s right post (32nd).

Nice made PSG doubt

The scenario of the match then seemed to take a definitive turn when the Polish goalkeeper made a mistake against Dembélé’s pressing. An error which Ruiz took advantage of to score the 2-0 goal (33rd). At this point in the match, no one saw Nice coming back. But after an exploit from Boga on the left side, Laborde took advantage of a deflected clearance from Hernandez to reduce the score with a nice volley (2-1, 37th). A reduction in the score completely against the course of play, but which had the merit of breathing life back into Farioli’s formation. Because it was she who finished the first period strong by creating several opportunities to equalize (45th +2, 45th +3). When they returned from the locker room, Nice did not let up and if they had not got confused, Boga could have tied the teams (47th). And what about Lotomba’s double opportunity, offside, but put back into play by a back pass from Ramos, against Donnarumma (55th). Manhandled, PSG nevertheless managed to make the break again on the hour mark after a cross from Vitinha victoriously headed by Beraldo (3-1, 59th). The defender’s first goal in the colors red and blue.

A relief for Mbappé’s partners. In the process, Lee could even have increased the score in a nice way with a free kick, but Bulka pulled out all the stops before having his nose involuntarily smashed by his teammate Rosario. Not enough to get the Pole out. The end of the match was a little more choppy. The Niçois pushed, but above all made a lot of mistakes because of too physical a game. Farioli then tried his last moves by bringing in four players (Perraud, Mendy, Claude-Maurice, Cho) between the 79th and 87th minutes. In vain. Even the ten minutes of additional time granted following Bulka’s nose injury changed nothing, notably because of two exceptional saves on each side by Donnarumma and Bulka against Claude-Maurice (90th + 5) and WZE (90th +6). After being knocked out in the round of 16 by OM last year, the French champions advance to the semi-finals and will face the Bretons of SRFC on Wednesday April 3 at 9:10 p.m. As a reminder, OL will host Valenciennes the day before.

– man of the match: Dembélé (7.5): the French international was in all the right places this evening. Very active on his right lane with the ball, he was also very useful without the ball with numerous calls and effective pressing. He was rewarded for his efforts by recovering the ball from Bulka’s feet to give Fabian Ruiz (33rd) the goal. Throughout the match, he was a constant threat thanks to his speed and his ability to throw himself into the counterattack very quickly.

PSG

– Donnarumma (6.5): the Italian goalkeeper had a fairly peaceful meeting this Wednesday evening and he was not worried once. Unfortunately for him, on the only strike from Nice, he was beaten by Laborde (37th). A frustrating scenario for him which did not take him out of his match however since he was decisive against Lotomba in the 55th. He does it again in front of Moffi in the 90th.

– Zaire-Emery (6): positioned right side on paper, the young Parisian titi once again showed that he can do everything. Everywhere on the pitch, he was at the origin of the Parisian opening score by recovering a ball very high and magnificently serving Lee who would be decisive afterwards (13th). A few minutes later, he delivered an offering to Ramos who missed the inevitable (22nd).

– Beraldo (6.5): very good for several matches, the Brazilian defender confirmed his current good form. Although he sometimes had some difficulties when Nice pushed, he still provided the essentials with very clean interventions and always interesting placement. He even scored his first goal in Parisian colors with a beautiful header (60th). Replaced by Danilo in the 83rd.

– L. Hernandez (6): leader of the Parisian defense in the absence of Marquinhos, the Frenchman was rather convincing even if he had a few less successful periods when Nice pushed. He made decisive interventions but his disaster clearance on Vitinha allowed Laborde to reduce the gap. But overall, it’s a serious match from him.

– Nuno Mendes (6): back regularly on the left lane of the Parisian defense, the Portuguese international once again showed great things and great activity. Defensively, he was very clean and did not hesitate to break lines by running. We would have liked to see him combine a little more on his side with Ruiz or Mbappé but Mendes provided the essentials.

– Vitinha (6): in a number 6 role in front of the defense, the Portuguese did the job without being brilliant either. His technical quality allows him to quickly escape from the pressure and pressing of the opposing team. But we feel that he still has difficulty keeping up with the physical impact and sometimes lacks experience in his positioning.

– Ruiz (6.5): the Spanish international touched a lot of balls during his team’s highlights. He was invaluable in clearing the game and he also scored his team’s second goal, taking advantage of a big ball from Bulka and a good serve from Dembélé. He then clearly decreased in intensity and logically gave way to Ugarte in the 83rd. But in content, it is rather very positive and he showed a more than attractive face confirming that he can be very interesting in Luis Enrique’s system.

– Lee (6): in the heart of the game, the South Korean touched a lot of balls. He had the role of guardian of the Parisian game and he did it quite well. Above all, we felt a real complementarity with Dembélé or Zaire-Emery. He is at the origin of the opening score for PSG by offering a good cross to Mbappé. If he decreased in intensity after returning from the locker room, he remained very valuable in his ability to keep the balls.

– Dembélé (7.5): see below

– Ramos (5.5): established at the forefront of the Parisian attack, the Portuguese quickly distinguished himself and weighed on the Nice defense at the start of the match. He could also have made his good debut a reality if he had been much more diligent on the Zaire-Emery center (22nd). He was more discreet afterwards. Replaced in the 74th minute by Bradley Barcola who was able to get a few chances.

– Mbappé (7): in recent weeks, the Bondynois has been in turmoil due to its management by Luis Enrique. This Wednesday, he started on the front of the Parisian attack and as is often the case, Mbappé does not need much to shine. It is he who quickly opens the scoring in this match by combining perfectly with Ruiz (13th). He could have scored a double after a good sequence but his shot crashed against Bulka’s post (25th).

OGC Nice

– Bulka (5): if there is not much to criticize him for the first and third goals, the second is clearly for him. The Pole gave his former club a nice gift by getting confused and losing a ball leading to the break goal. He made up for it by making a superb save on Lee’s free kick (65th), and in front of Zaire-Emery (90+7th).

– Lotomba (4): the Swiss had quite a client this evening, in this case Mbappé. He is also beaten by the Parisian on a subtle one-two during the opening score in Ile-de-France (15th). The full-back was shaky in his positioning, especially on calls behind his back, even if in his one-on-one duels he was rarely overtaken. He has the ball to tie the two teams (55th). Replaced by Mendy (87th).

– Todibo (5.5): the French rock gave Lotomba a good helping hand to block Mbappé. The former Toulouse player pressed the Parisian striker closely, but that was not enough at times, as evidenced by this deflected shot off the post (25th). His athletic qualities were invaluable in the impact and he tried as best he could not to sink in the face of the Parisian attacks.

– Dante (4): he was easily eliminated by Dembélé on the first Parisian alert (5th), and was often outpaced, despite his experience. In addition, the Brazilian unfortunately offered an assist to his compatriot Beraldo on the third Parisian goal.

– Bard (5): the former Lyonnais won his duel against Kang-In Lee, often forcing him to move back into the middle. Rarely found wanting in one-on-one situations, concentrated defensively, Bard completed a clean copy. However, he never provided support offensively. Replaced by Perraud (87th).

– Rosario (5.5): the Nice midfielder fulfilled his role of sentinel and central defender in the defensive phase with success, thanks to his physical impact and his reading of the game. His vision and his quality of recovery served the Aiglons to calm the game, Nice being deprived of balloons, especially during the first half hour.

– Sanson (4.5): the midfielder didn’t stop running throughout the match. His pressure was valuable in recovery, but in the use of the ball, the former Montpellier did not project himself as much as his friend Thuram. Replaced by Claude-Maurice (77th).

– Thuram (5): the French international was valuable in his projections with and without the ball. Technically skilled, Marcus’ brother was the link between the midfield and the attack, even if there was technical waste in his transmissions.

– Guessand (4): difficult to stand out in a team which offered so little this evening. The striker, like his attacking colleagues, had very few balls to play offensively. Useful in his game with his back to goal, he was less effective when it was necessary to have the right gesture to conclude the actions. Replaced by Cho (78th).

– Laborde (4.5): he took advantage of a solo raid from Boga and a favorable counterattack to reduce the gap (37th). Apart from this goal, the former Rennais did not really succeed in standing out, with too few balls to make the difference. Replaced by Moffi (66th)

– Boga (5): he was one of the few – if not the only one – to provoke and want to create discrepancies. Thanks to a solo action, he brings the Nice goal (37th). Unfortunately, this was far too rare to turn the tide in this match.