OGC Nice approach derby against pessimistic AS Monaco
OGC Nice lost 1-0 away to Ferencvaros in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, leaving little room for optimism, three days before they face local rivals AS Monaco in the Côte d’Azur derby.
More generally, results have been lacking since the arrival of Frank Hayes. Nice have won only two games in all competitions this season. One of them was an 8-0 win over AS Saint-Etienne, which Hayes described as a “phantom” result. However, performances were generally good, for example in the 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain and even in the loss to Olympique de Marseille, another of their rivals.
Monaco in top form
However, this loss and its appearance were a cause for concern for Heise ahead of an important match. “I didn’t think there would be such an attitude problem,” Heise said after Thursday night’s loss to Hungary. “The starting point was the derby against a team (Monaco) that was by far the best in every area.”
There is a sense of pessimism in Nice as they prepare to host Les Monegasques at the Allianz Riviera on Sunday. Monaco currently sit joint-top of Ligue 1 with PSG but are unbeaten in all competitions, defeating Crvena Zvezda in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. The dynamic couldn’t be more different.
GFFN |Luke Entwistle
