Le Havre Win and Nice Move Away from the Top Spot in Ligue 1
Nice joined the list of fallen contenders behind Paris Saint-Germain, suffering a resounding loss in their visit to Le Havre, which won 3-1. This leaves Francesco Farioli's team four points behind the Ligue 1 leader with one more match played.
Paris Saint-Germain has reasons to smile. So far, the day is shaping up perfectly for Luis Enrique Martínez's team. Third-placed Monaco lost at home to Olympique Lyon (0-1) and was awaiting Nice's result to face Sunday's challenging match against Lille with more comfort. If PSG manages to win, they will end the sixteenth matchday with a seven-point lead over Nice and a nine-point lead over Monaco.
This will be a considerable gap for a team that does not usually make many mistakes throughout a season. And when the weekend is over, if Paris Saint-Germain secures a victory, they should thank Olympique Lyon and Le Havre, especially the latter, which not only defeated Nice but also handed them a demoralizing defeat for their upcoming challenges.
Emmanuel Sabbi was the one responsible for steering Le Havre's victory. The American winger scored twice in the first half, penetrating Marcin Bulka's goal. In one of the goals, Bulka made a mistake that influenced the rest of the match. Five minutes into the game, he failed to catch an easy shot, leaving the ball loose in the area for Sabbi to open the scoring. Later, after the half-hour mark, Sabbi repeated with an unstoppable right-footed shot into the top corner of Bulka's goal, securing Le Havre's victory.
Unable to generate much, Nice went into halftime on the way to a defeat confirmed shortly after the restart by Mohamed Bayo. The Le Havre forward scored his fourth goal of the season from the penalty spot, sealing the fate of a Nice team that, through Tom Louchet, scored a mere consolation goal in injury time. In the end, Stade Océane sentenced Nice, leaving them three crucial points behind in the title race, a title that Paris Saint-Germain will be closer to if they defeat Lille on Sunday at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.