Les Verts and Nice are tied after the first leg of the playoff

Context

Qualifiés aux dépens de Rodez il y a 10 jours lors du play-off 2 (0-0, 7-6 tab), les Verts ont vu les Niçois échouer en finale de la Coupe de la France vendredi soir malgré un match de qualité. Les Verts et un Chaudron plein attendent les Aiglons pour le match aller des barrages de Ligue 1 McDonald's. 

Starting XI

With Ben Old out, Philippe Montanier started Dennis Appiah on the left wing and kept the Julien Le Cardinal–Maxime Bernauer partnership in central defense, while Kevin Pedro remained on the right wing. After returning from injury, Luan Gadegbeku played his second consecutive game alongside Alpha Kanté, while Augustine Boakye played as the No. 10 behind Lucas Stassin, flanked by Irvin Cardona and Zuriko Davitashvili.

👥 Le XI stéphanois pour ce barrage aller ! 💚#ASSEOGCN, coup d’envoi dans une heure ! 👊 pic.twitter.com/Pb3gPhGCGA

— AS Saint-Étienne (@ASSEofficiel) May 26, 2026

Game scenario 

The match kicked off in a heated atmosphere with temperatures over 30°, nearly 40,000 fans in attendance, and a physical battle unfolding on the field. Les Verts rose to the challenge in one-on-one battles and ball recovery. Neither team managed to create any real scoring chances. Irvin Cardona’s cross-shot was caught by Diouf (10th), Sanson’s shot went wide (17th), and Augustine Boakye’s shot sailed too high (20th). The first real scare came from a Nice attack, but Maxime Bernauer perfectly anticipated Clauss’s run on Diop’s cross (23rd). The Aiglons began to control the ball more and threatened again, even though Bah’s shot lacked accuracy (30th). In the 45th minute, Oppong appealed for a penalty against Stassin, but Benoît Bastien blew the whistle only to end the first half after six minutes of stoppage time. The Verts and the Gym headed into the locker rooms tied at 0–0.

After the halftime break, play resumed just as it had ended in the first half. The visitors established a slight advantage, reflected in their possession of the ball, but Les Verts continued to capitalize on every opportunity that came their way. Zuriko Davitashvili (58th) and Augustine Boakye (61st) took shots but failed to find the target. As the second half wore on, Philippe Montanier’s men took control of the match without, however, managing to find the back of the net. They had to settle for this encouraging draw ahead of their trip to Nice for the second leg.

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Coming next

Confident and uninhibited, the Greens gave it their all but failed to capitalize on their chances against the Gym. They’ll face Nice again as early as Friday, looking to secure a win and advance to the McDonald’s Ligue 1.