Nice 4 Monaco 0: Balotelli and co put an emphatic end to the champions winning run
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Monaco’s record winning run in Ligue 1 came to an end in an emphatic fashion after 16 matches when a Mario Balotelli inspired OGC Nice ran them ragged in an unprecedented 4-0 victory for the home side.
Mario Balotelli found the back of the net on two occasions as Nice swept to yet another 4-0 victory over the champions in one of France’s biggest derbies.
Leonardo Jardim’s side looked to continue their fine run that had made them seem almost unperturbed by what had been a huge fire sale by the principality side which featured many high profile departures. Prior to this match, the Champions had absolutely demolished Marseille 6-1 before the international break.
But it was one of the lower profile departures Saint-Maximin that combined well with Alassane Plea to let the Italian through on goal in the 18th minute and double Nice advantage after Mario Balotelli had earlier put the Nice based club ahead in the 6th minute from the penalty spot. Ignatius Ganago capped the win late with a fine debut goal for Nice after Balotelli had made it 3 in the 60th minute
Monaco defending was at best atrocious from the start as Nice easily found large swathes of space in Monaco’s defense to exploit with Nice threatening as early as the 5th minute when Saint-Maximin put Pleas clear on goal. Daniel Subasic proved to be the hero as he kept him out with a smart save.
Subasic was soon called on to be a hero again after Fabinho tugged Mario Balotelli to the ground inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot and Balotelli stood up to take the penalty. Subasic guessed right and dived right, but Balotelli’s firm effort found the net regardless.
Monaco continued to struggle for any sort of rhythm and soon found themselves 2 behind in the 18th minute when Saint-Maximin took a direct approach against his former employers, splitting the principality club’s defense down the middle, leaving Plea to make a simple curling effort beyond a stunned Subasic.
Just before the hour had passed. Balotelli evaded Fabinho’s attention, sneaking beyond the flat footed defender to make a simple tap in. Balotelli was soon taken off in the 74th minute to a standing ovation by the Nice crowd, including his manager Lucien Favre.
His replacement was Ignacio Ganago, and the 18-year-old made another impact from the bench as Monaco allowed him to run clear and finish as Nice repeated last season’s score line in the same fixture
