Pantaloni's first game at Nice is against his old club, in an empty stadium, and it ends 0-0
Nice served a closed-doors sanction, had 60% of the ball and put one shot on target. Lorient had the better chances and did nothing with them either. New era, no goals.
The Allianz Riviera was empty. Nice are serving a closed-doors sanction handed down after crowd incidents against Metz in May — the same punishment they played the relegation play-off under — so Olivier Pantaloni's first competitive match in charge happened in silence.
It was also against Lorient, the club he used to work at, now under Alexandre Dujeux. Two new eras, one goalless draw.
Lorient had the chances, Nice had the ball
Lorient were the better side for the first half-hour. Mamadou Koné, unmarked six yards out, got nothing on Gabin Bernardeau's cross — the sort of miss that decides an opening weekend.
Nice finished with 60% possession, 549 accurate passes and exactly one shot on target. ESPN logged four big chances for Lorient and none at all for the hosts. Sixty per cent of the ball and nothing to show for it is a recognisable problem, and it is now Pantaloni's.
Match facts
- No goals — the only goalless first half and full match of the day alongside Troyes v Paris FC
- Played behind closed doors: Nice sanction after the Metz crowd incidents in May
- First competitive match for Olivier Pantaloni at Nice and Alexandre Dujeux at Lorient
| Stat | Nice | Lorient |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 60% | 40% |
| Shots on target | 1 | 2 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 1.08 | 1.24 |
| Accurate passes | 549 (87%) | 352 (84%) |
| Corners | 9 | 3 |
| Fouls committed | 15 | 8 |
| Saves | 2 | 1 |
What's next
A point each, and for Nice a first home crowd still to come. Matchday 2 next weekend is where both of these projects start being judged on something other than novelty.
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