Yehvann Diouf (25) was at the origin of a 111-second sequence that decided the game. “It was probably the key moment,” said Franck Haise as OGC Nice beat Olympique Lyonnais 3-2. However, it could have ended very differently. 

In the 53rd minute, the game was finely poised. Nice held a one-goal lead thanks to goals from Melvin Bard and Sofiane Diop. However, Charles Vanhoutte was penalised for handling inside the box. Ainsley Maitland-Niles stepped up but failed to beat the Senegalese goalkeeper, who guessed the right way; 111 seconds later, Hicham Boudaoui extended Nice’s lead to two goals, and the match, ultimately, was decided.

Monaco and a turning point

It wasn’t Diouf’s only positive intervention of the game. He made a total of five saves and, with the ball at his feet, he was more assured, with his ball at the origin of Nice’s third and final goal. It comes after something of a return to form before the international break, when he helped Le Gym cling on to a 2-2 draw against AS Monaco.

However, prior to that, Diouf had struggled since making the move to Nice from Stade de Reims over the summer. “He has been criticised; I think that he had other good matches, too [before Monaco]. The criticism was maybe too much; he was overly criticised. But he is a solid, stable guy, hard-working and talented,” said Haise in the post-match press conference attended by Get French Football News.

Lyon’s assistant names Diouf man of the match

However, there is no doubting that his performance in the 3-2 win over Lyon is an important moment in these early moments of his career with Le Gym. “We created chances. The Man of the Match was their goalkeeper,” said OL assistant Jorge Maciel, standing in for Paulo Fonseca, still banned from fulfilling his post-match media duties.

“I think that he silenced all of his critics. He needed a period of adaptation. Everyone needs that, even the best. He played the perfect match. If they score the penalty, it isn’t the same match,” reacted Sofiane Diop, the scorer of Nice’s second against OL.

Diouf had big gloves to fill, coming in and replacing Marcin Bulka. But after his performance against Lyon, it feels as though his Nice career begins now.