PLAYER RATINGS | Lille 0-0 OGC Nice: Les Aiglons take valuable point in relegation battle

PLAYER RATINGS | Lille 0-0 OGC Nice: Les Aiglons take valuable point in relegation battle

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Match 30, 18/04/2026

Lille OSC were held to a goalless draw at home to OGC Nice. The hosts had been hoping to open a four-point buffer between themselves and Olympique de Marseille in fourth, while the visitors were looking to avoid defeat as they looked to go five points clear of AJ Auxerre and the relegation playoff spot. 

The Match

There was little surprise that Lille dominated the ball, while Nice looked to shut down their hosts with a low block and then hit them in transition. There was not too much quality in front of goal for either side in the first half. 

Romain Perraud’s strike from distance forced Yehvan Diouf into a spectacular fingertip save when his shot took a wicked deflection off Antoine Mendy. The goalkeeper wasn’t kept busy, but his interventions were vital, as he later denied Matias Fernandez-Pardo’s whipped shot at the near post. 

Nice managed to put the ball in the back of the net when Elye Wahi was released into space by Mohamed Ali Cho’s surging run. However, the striker mistimed his run by a fraction of a second, and the goal was ruled out as offside by VAR. 

The game threatened to burst into life early in the second half when Wahi was threaded through on goal by Melvin Bard. Aïssa Mandi went to ground early with a sliding challenge, but his mistake wasn’t capitalised on as Wahi slowed his run with a series of step overs that allowed the centre-back to recover and pick his pocket. 

A minute later, and Chancel Mbemba should have scored down the other end when he headed Thomas Meunier’s cross onto the post. The rebound was picked up by Hákon Arnar Haraldsson, but he poked his shot wide. 

Lille believed that they had finally unlocked the Nice defence when Perraud was bundled over in the box by Mendy, but after consulting the pitchside monitor, the referee overturned his decision, with the centre-back making contact with the ball before taking down the Lille man. 

The hosts were missing a moment of quality to break their guests down. Bruno Génésio threw on Olivier Giroud, Ethan Mbappé, Osame Sahraoui, and Gaëtan Perrin, but to no avail as Nice held on to a valuable point in their fight to avoid relegation. 

Lille Player Ratings

Berke Özer, 5

Romain Perraud, 5

Spent much of the game as high as possible. He provided an attacking threat from deep, but often his positioning left acres of space for Jonathan Clauss to run into… he was somewhat fortunate the wing-back couldn’t capitalise.

Aïssa Mandi, 6

So often impressive for Lille. He’s been head and shoulders their best defender across the season. Tonight was no different, making interventions when necessary, even if he wasn’t tested too often.

Chancel Mbemba, 5

Thomas Meunier, 6

Benjamin André, 5

Ayyoub Bouaddi, 5

Fortunate that Elye Wahi’s goal was overturned, he was left for dead by Mohamed Ali Cho’s bursting run in the build-up. He was fine on the ball, doing well in the build-up, but struggled to do much in advanced areas.

Félix Correia, 4

Hákon Arnar Haraldsson, 4

Ngal’ayel Mukau, 3

Matias Fernandez-Pardo, 4

OGC Nice Player Ratings

Yehvann Diouf, 7

Kojo Peprah Oppong, 6

Juma Bah, 6

Antoine Mendy, 5

Melvin Bard, 5

Salis Abdul Samed, 6

Tanguy Ndombélé, 6

Only his third start in the league, which was brought about by the selection crisis in midfield for Claude Puel. He did well, only leaving the pitch in the 84th minute, after putting in a shift in the centre. He was a rare creative outlet in the first half, but spent much more of the game working hard out of possession.

Jonathan Clauss, 5

A frustrating one for the wing-back. He often found plenty of space to run into down the right of the pitch, but he embodied the disconnect in Nice’s rare forays forward. The club did everything right, but find the final ball.

Sofiane Diop, 3

Elye Wahi, 4

A really promising first half was met with a poor second. The striker was the lone attacking outlet and seemed to always make the wrong decision at the exact wrong time.

Mohamed Ali Cho, 4

GFFN | Nick Hartland