Nice take derby spoils against Monaco as Laborde nets winner in tempestuous affair
The visitors looked dangerous on the counter-attack from the off, and almost took the lead when Takumi Minamino’s deflected cross appeared to be looping into the net, but Marcin Bułka showed great agility to adjust and claw the ball onto the bar. Nice started to work their way back into the game and Jeremie Boga weaved his way into a great shooting position, only to slip at the vital moment.
It looked like that would be punished immediately when Monaco swept up the pitch, with Breel Embolo stabbing the ball home in the six-yard box, yet VAR ruled that Minamo was offside in the build-up.
Not to be denied, the Swiss striker netted his first Ligue 1 goal of the season just before the break when he was slipped through on goal by Maghnes Akliouche, keeping his nerve to find the bottom corner.
Just when it looked like the visitors would take a well-deserved lead into the interval, the momentum swung heavily towards Nice with two stoppage-time incidents.
Firstly, Evann Guessand leapt impressively to head home an equaliser from Ali Abdi’s free-kick. In the aftermath, an almighty scuffle broke out with almost everyone involved, but Vanderson was singled out and picked up a second yellow card to reduce Monaco to 10 men.
The hosts came out firing on all cylinders after the break and Guessand had a great chance to give his side the lead as he went through on goal, firing a shot straight at Radoslaw Majecki.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic though, with Lamine Camara’s shot from distance almost catching Bułka out as he tipped the ball onto the bar. However, the turnaround was complete with 20 minutes to go thanks to Gaetan Laborde, who capitalised on Krepin Diatta’s diabolical backpass to race through on goal and dink the ball over Majecki.
That goal ultimately delivered three much-needed points that elevate Nice to eighth, while Monaco remain second in Ligue 1, level on points with current table-toppers Paris Saint-Germain, albeit with a game extra played.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Evann Guessand (Nice)