Arriving into this game on the back of their midweek Europa League exit, the last thing Monaco needed was a slow start, but that was exactly what they fell to. Dante’s sublime 50-yard pass dropped perfectly on the toe of Terem Moffi, who took one touch to control before slotting home the opener with his second as he finally got off the mark in Nice colours. Like London buses, after waiting for one, two Moffi goals came at once. Khephren Thuram was the architect this time, lofting a delicate ball in behind for Moffi to latch onto and finish with aplomb.
Moffi really was running the show and he was again pivotal in Nice’s third, returning the favour for Thuram as he laid the ball on a plate for the French U21 international to fire home from the edge of the area and seemingly place the game beyond any reasonable doubt.
Monaco came out with a flea in their ear after the break, clearly being rocketed in the dressing room by a doubtless seething Philippe Clement. Half-time substitute Aleksandr Golovin was afforded too much time in the area, but as he sought to pull the trigger, a last-ditch Jordan Lotomba tackle denied Monaco an instant response.
Thursday night’s European exploits looked to have taken their toll on Monaco, who struggled to get going throughout and offered precious little in front of goal. And when the hosts did get into promising positions they were incredibly wasteful, highlighted no more so than when Caio Henrique was afforded the freedom of Monaco at the back post to latch onto Krepin Diatta’s cross, but his volley drifted harmlessly wide. All in all it was a mightily impressive win for Nice, who are keeping pace in their quest to sneak into the top-five.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Terem Moffi (Nice)
