Nice hold off late Lille rally to claim crucial home victory

Mohammed Amoura proved decisive, forcing the opening own goal before scoring himself, while goalkeeper Yéhvann Diouf produced a string of important saves to help the hosts withstand a late Lille fightback.

Match highlight

Despite starting the contest bottom of the table, Nice played with confidence and dominated the opening exchanges. Djibril Coulibaly almost handed them an early lead, firing into the side-netting and briefly convincing sections of the home crowd that he had broken the deadlock.

Elye Wahi twice saw promising openings halted by the offside flag before Nice’s pressure finally paid off. Released down the left, Amoura delivered an inventive ball into the box that Ngoy diverted into the far corner of his own net.

Wahi should have doubled the advantage around the half-hour mark. Another excellent delivery from Amoura found the forward unmarked inside the penalty area, but his left-footed effort struck the post.

The contest opened up after the break, with chances flowing at both ends. Diouf reacted sharply to keep out an Ayase Ueda header before Niels Nkounkou blazed over inside the box following a pass from Wahi.

Lille continued to test the Nice goalkeeper. Diouf stood firm against a fierce Tiago Santos strike and then gathered Nabil Bentaleb’s effort from distance as the visitors pushed for an equaliser.

Nice remained dangerous, however, and Wahi squandered another clear opportunity to give his side breathing space. Played through on goal, he attempted a delicate chip, only for Berke Özer to deny him.

Amoura supplied the finishing touch his teammate had been missing moments later. Racing onto Gauthier Hein’s long pass, he calmly rounded Özer and rolled the ball into the empty net to double Nice’s lead.

Lille refused to fold. With ten minutes remaining, Ueda lashed home a powerful left-footed finish to cut the deficit and set up a tense finale.

The Japan international almost struck again shortly afterwards, but Diouf came to Nice’s rescue with an excellent stop, using his left foot to repel Ueda’s header and preserve the hosts’ narrow advantage.

Nice held on for a much-needed victory that lifted them out of the relegation zone heading into the international break. Lille, meanwhile, missed the opportunity to go top and slipped to fourth after defeat on the road.