Nice rallies past Strasbourg 2-1 at the Allianz Riviera

Strasbourg had taken the lead at the Allianz Riviera and looked on track to leave with all three points, but Nice stormed back in the second half to win 2-1 in a Ligue 1 match that slipped away from the visitors late on.

The early stretch belonged to Strasbourg, who carried a bit more threat going forward without turning it into a goal through the first half hour. The breakthrough came in the 40th minute: Dário Essugo fired a right footed shot from outside the box that snuck in low by the left post, set up by Conrad Harder. The 0-1 held until halftime, but it did not survive two minutes into the second half. Right after the restart, in the 46th minute, an own goal from Pape Diop leveled things at 1-1.

With the score tied, the game opened up and Nice started to take control. The winner arrived in the 80th minute: Jonathan Clauss struck a right footed shot from inside the box, through the middle of the goal, assisted by Sofiane Diop, to make it a final 2-1. There was no time left for any more drama, though Strasbourg kept pushing until the end with chances from Pape Diop and Isak Jansson that failed to find the net.

By the numbers

Strasbourg controlled more of the ball and generated a higher volume of play, but Nice was more clinical when it mattered. Possession leaned toward the visitors, though the home side was sharper in front of goal.

The expected goals estimate based on the match's shots backs up that reading: Nice generated 1.72 xG against Strasbourg's 0.60, a gap that lines up with a home side that, despite seeing less of the ball, put six of its eleven shots on frame.

The pre-match outlook ended up contradicted by what played out on the field: our projection gave Strasbourg a 45% chance of winning, against 27% for Nice and 28% for a draw, with expected goals of 1.61 for the visitors and 1.21 for the home side. The final result flipped that favoritism on its head.

What it means in the standings

Heading into the match, Nice had a record of two wins, two draws and two losses in six games, while Strasbourg had two wins, one draw and three losses also in six matches. Before this game just 1 point separated them in the table, with Nice in ninth place and Strasbourg in eleventh. Saturday's win lets Nice pull away from a direct rival in the standings, while Strasbourg is left to reflect on a result it had in hand for much of the match but let slip away.