Nice have taken a huge step towards Ligue 1 survival with an edgy and narrow 1-0 victory over Reims.

The home side started brightly and Valentin Eysseric was particularly confident early on, as he struck a long-range free kick not too far over the crossbar.

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Reims's first chance came a few minutes later when Nicolas De Preville came close with a header from a right-wing cross from Atila Turan.

As the first half progressed, Dario Cvitanich's shot from the corner of the six-yard box was tipped over the bar by Kossi Agassa for a corner.

It was still 0-0 at the break, but just five minutes into the second half Nice went ahead. Eysseric was the scorer with a low drive from the edge of the box following a corner routine.

Reims piled forward in search for an equaliser, but De Preville missed their best chance with a 75th-minute header, and they were unable to claim the point that they wanted.