Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 27, 29/03/25
AS Monaco had to come from behind to beat local rivals OGC Nice in theDerby de la Côte d’Azur(2-1) as they leapfrogged Olympique de Marseille into second place and behind champions-elect Paris Saint-Germain.
The Match
Last year, Bulka made two saves from Folarin Balogun before Nice grabbed the win late on. The story looked like being repeated. Baptiste Santamaria made two errors inside his own box: the first was losing the ball and the second was bringing down Breel Embolo when looking to atone for the mistakes. However, Mika Biereth, so prolific since his arrival at Monaco saw his effort saved by Bulka.
Minutes later, Takumi Minamino struck the crossbar with a sumptuous, curled effort. However, Nice then grew into the gamewith Dante forcing Philipp Köhn into a save, whilst Ali Abdi saw a curled effort deflected just inches wide. However, Bulka was forced into action again as he made an excellent save with his feet to deny Maghnes Akliouche.
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It was a former Chelsea man that kept Nice in the game and it was another that gave them the lead as Jérémie Boga headed home from a Jonathan Clauss cross. LesMonégasques somehow went in behind but it wouldn’t stay that way for too long.
Biereth fluffed his penalty in the opening minutes but he didn’t shy away and finished emphatically past Bulka at the near post to level the scores before the hour mark. Le Gym never really came out of the dressing rooms and were oddly passive for large swathes of the second half as Monaco pushed for the goal that would put them ahead.
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The Principality club wanted a penalty when Breel Embolo went down in the box and despite the referee not initially awarding it, there was hope that Dante would be punished for the light contact when VAR sent the referee to the screen. However, the referee stuck with his original decision.
Monaco would have their breakthrough moments later as Embolo did well to shield a flick in the box from Akliouche and blast past Bulka. Folarin Balogun, back from injury and making his first appearance in 2025, had a chance one-on-one but was forced wide and could only find the side-netting.
Dante was sent off in injury time for clipping down Akliouche who was baring down on goal and Nice could not force an opening. Nice are now three games without a win, whilst the win lifts Monaco to second and above Marseille.
Monaco player ratings
Philipp Köhn – 5
Caio Henrique – 4
Christian Mawissa – 6
Thilo Kehrer – 6
Wilfried Singo – 6
Takumi Minamino – 4
Lamine Camara – 3
Denis Zakaria – 6
Maghnes Akliouche – 7
Once again excellent in tight spaces with a capacity to force openings that aren’t really there and combine with his teammates. His two assists on the night came in such circumstances as he found Biereth and Embolo in a crowded box.
Breel Embolo – 5
Mika Biereth – 6
Having missed his penalty earlier in the match, he showed character to continue to make himself available. It was far from his best match since signing for Monaco but he still got the goal that got his side back in the game and set them on course for victory.
OGC Nice player ratings
Marcin Bulka – 7
He likes saving penalties at the Stade Louis II. He saved two here last season and Biereth became his latest victim. He also made excellent saves from Akliouche in the first half and in the second. He could have done better on Biereth’s first goal, arguably but there was nothing he could do about Embolo’s close-range finish. He did his share to keep Nice in the tie but it wasn’t enough.
Dante – 3
Youssouf Ndayishimiye – 7
Imperious in the first half in particular, he was unbeatable one-on-one and was composed on the ball, allowing Nice to build from the back. It was an individual performance that deserved more than what it got.
Moïse Bombito – 5
Ali Abdi – 4
Baptiste Santamaria – 4
Pablo Rosario – 4
Jonathan Clauss – 5
Jérémie Boga – 6
Evann Guessand – 5
Mohamed-Ali Cho – 4
GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting fromMonaco
