Nice welcomed Reims to the Stade Municipal du Ray tonight knowing that a win would see them close the gap on third-placed Marseille to just one point.
Goals from Valentin Eysseric and Renato Civelli sent Les Aiglons on their way to a 2-0 victory, which means that they have now lost just once in 16 games.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look to see if the result was fair.
Match statistics
Nice
Shots: 10
On Target: 6
Possession:
Corners: 3
Fouls: 11
Reims
Shots: 5
On Target: 0
Possession:
Corners: 2
Fouls: 19
Was the result fair?
Yes. Nice dominated the contest from start to finish and will actually be wondering how they did not win by more.
Nice's performance
8/10. Claude Puel's men started brilliantly and went a goal up in the 10th minute through Valentin Eysseric's penalty. He was proving to be a menace for the Reims defence, while captain Dider Digard was all over the pitch for his team. He sadly had to go off injured early in the second half. Eric Bautheac and Alexy Bossetti also played well, but missed chances to put Les Aiglons further in front. Renato Civelli got the goal that killed to game off, heading in from Bautheac's dangerous free kick with six minutes remaining. The hosts will wish they'd have scored more goals, but the three points was the most important thing about tonight.
Reims's performance
4/10. The visitors offered very little going forward tonight. They have five attempts on goal but not once did they trouble David Ospina. Defensively, they were average. Kossi Agassa made a few decent saves to keep the score down, while Anthony Weber put in a shift to try to protect the back line. Aissa Mandi's sending off allowed Nice the freedom that they enjoyed in the first half and the game was effectively over as a contest.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Valentin Eysseric: The 20-year-old had a good game, but did fade a little towards the end. He was involved in a lot of the attacking movement. Digard also had a decent game, but did not complete the 90 after suffering a back injury.
Biggest gaffe
Bautheac had a glorious opportunity to double the hosts' lead immediately after Eysseric's penalty had put them one up, but his attempt at chipping Agassa was poor and bobbled harmlessly wide.
Referee's performance
Mandi's first booking looks harsh in hindsight. It wasn't a malicious challenge, nor was it dangerous. Again, the second yellow was made worse by Nemanja Pejcinovic's reaction. Other than that, the referee showed leniency, especially in the face of constant petty fouling from Reims. Christopher Golombard should have received a yellow for the challenge on Bautheac that led to Nice's second goal.
What's next?
Nice: Les Aiglons travel to play Saint-Etienne next Saturday.
Reims: The relegation strugglers welcome leaders Paris Saint-Germain to the Stade Auguste Delaune, also next Saturday.
Michael Penkman
