Kluivert and Dolberg help Nice to victory and second place

Sunday, January 9, 2022 at 3:22 PM• Rian Rosendaal

OGC Nice is currently the number two in Ligue 1. The team of Justin Kluivert and Kasper Dolberg won on Sunday afternoon with large numbers from the middle engine Stade Brest: 0-3. Dolberg scored his fifth goal of this season within fifteen minutes, after Kluivert’s fine preparatory work on the left wing. Like number three Olympique Marseille, Nice is on 36 points, but is slightly better: +15 at +12. Marseille has played one game less in competition.

Kluivert started a solo on the left around the halfway line and several Brest players were unable to stop the Dutchman. The wing attacker then passed the ball to the detached Dolberg. The former Ajax striker looked at his options and then decided to strike just outside the penalty area. His placed ball in the far corner left goalkeeper Marco Bizot without a chance: 0-1. Nice suffered a blow in the 20th minute, as Morgan Schneiderlin received a direct red card from referee Stéphanie Frappart for a hard tackle in midfield. The Frenchman initially hit the ball, but he also slid hard, which meant that the visitors had to continue with ten players.

Brest tried to take advantage of the surplus situation after the break, but that did not yield the much desired equalizer. Ten minutes before the end, Nice put things in order. Amine Gouiri sent Andy Delort to Brest’s goal alone and only for Bizot did the substitute make no mistake: 0-2. Four minutes into stoppage time, Gouiri started a solo on his own field, which brought him into the Brest penalty area. He cut out another defender and then blasted the ball through the inside of the post: 0-3.

Pablo Rosario played the entire game in midfield, Kluivert and Dolberg were taken off the field prematurely. Calvin Stengs was not part of the match selection of Nice, which is now ten points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain. The list leader from Paris will visit Olympique Lyon on Sunday evening.