What was supposed to be a festive evening quickly turned into a nightmare for OGC Nice. On a night that the Populaire Sud, the club’s main ultras group, celebrated their 40th birthday with pyro and pomp, their players were acquiescent as their fiercest rivals, Olympique de Marseille, came to their home and put five goals past them.

By half-time, Marseille were two goals up and before the hour mark, Nice were four goals down. Mohamed Ali-Cho netted a consolation in the 65th minute before Igor Paixao restored the four-goal advantage for the hosts. 

OM spoiled the party, even if the ‘Pop Sud’ continued their celebrations in a context that became increasingly morose as the final whistle drew nearer. It was only once the final whistle was blown that their true feelings became clear, and they made sure that the Nice players understood them. 

But they didn’t need their own fans to tell them how sub-par they had been, and on what had been such a significant night for the club’s fans. “It hurts my head. 5-1 against OM, it’s a spanking at home for the Populaire Sud’s 40-year anniversary. I won’t sleep tonight. We have to get down to work and look ourselves in the mirror,” reacted Sofiane Diop in a mixed zone interview attended by Get French Football News.

Nice manager Haise: ‘We can’t make so many errors without being punished.’

He added, “Was the part ruined? Totally. They have every right to be unhappy.” Franck Haise, after his rant prior to the international break in the wake of a defeat to SC Freiburg, went from angry to just disappointed. 

“The global level [of the team is insufficient,” began Haise. “We were punished for giving the ball to the opponent way too often. They obviously don’t need that; they made the most of that, which is natural. Intentions don’t win you matches, and we gave so many gifts, it was outrageous. We can’t make so many errors without being punished.”