peaks

bless the barricade

What a match, what a performance from Walter Benitez! The Nice porter was “in the zone” on Saturday. So reassuring in an sometimes frenetic defense, he was imperial on his air outings and away from his cages (44, 72). His kicks were very correct but above all we remember his saves. The French-Argentine disgusted the people of Strasbourg. First in the amazing flight of Caci’s long shot I took the path of the skylight (25). Then at the end of a special game. He first made a great double save against Diallo by recovering very quickly after the first period (80). And he repeated the achievement a few minutes later, ahead of your wages and then Diallo (83). The naturalized finished the meeting with 6 saves and almost single-handedly gave the Aiglons a break even point.

Djiku-Nyamsi, the dominant duo

If the people of Nice are so dangerous, they also owe it to the Strasbourg hinge. If Lucas Perrin produced a good match, Alexandre Dzeko and Jairzino Niamsi were imperials. The former was a life saver, with a perfect return for Al Qweri as the latter went on to challenge his goalkeeper (25). The second muzzled Andy Delort, in brutal duels, both on the ground and in the air (26, 39). Proof of this is that Christophe Galtier fired both, which is a rarity for him. The hinge never let the Aiglons unite and was in control in defense and progression while tossing the ball well.

flops

Kluivert, a performance to forget

Expectations have changed for Justin Kluivert. Since it exploded in 2022, the defenses have been waiting for Batav at the turn. And this Saturday, he never pulled out of the game, was never in the game, didn’t have much weight in the meeting and didn’t succeed in his usual attempts. Even his set-ups were hit hard (31, 50). He comes out very early (60) but spoils his performance again on the bench. Because of the inappropriate words, Madame Frappart kicks him out in direct red and takes him back to the locker room. Unfortunately Christoph Galtaire, who lamented “You play three games a weekto the official. With the Coupe de France semi-finals and then the PSG, Montpellier and OM series, the champion French coach will have to find alternatives to replace his Dutch winger.

Nice hinge in the bay

For 48 minutes, Dante floated in the Nice defense. But in the forty-eighth minute, a second warning—which he had collected almost in the first period—left the other orphans of their best element up to then. Because if Benitez has a lot to do, he also owes his joint fever. With a shortage of professional centre-backs – Todibo and Danieluk were suspended – Christophe Galtier opted to field five centre-backs, including Danilo Barbosa and Mario Lemina. These last two were very porous, and suffocated by Alsatian pressure. Their increases were rarely guaranteed and they left plenty of room for attackers. Galette can be pleased with the feedback from his hubs, as he is not likely to try the experience again anytime soon.