Nice 1-1 Lille: Bafode Diakite secures a point for visitors with stoppage-time equaliser at Allianz Riviera

Lille scored a dramatic late equaliser to hold Nice to a 1-1 draw in a scrappy game that will do little to strike fear into the rest of the division.

Lille finished nine points behind Nice last season but looked determined to give them nine goals at the Allianz Riviera, constantly allowing their opponents opportunities in the first half.

Gaetan Laborde’s 19th-minute goal looked like it was enough to secure the victory, he gloriously chipped a shot over Lille keeper Lucas Chevalier for the first goal of the new season but Nice wasted several chances to add to that lead.

And they were made to pay late on when Angel Gomes whipped in a cross and Bafode Diakite rose above a Nice defensive line seemingly rooted to the spot and powered a header past Marcin Bulka, who’d been flawless all evening otherwise.

A draw was probably a fair result for a game low on quality but high on entertainment, particularly in the first half.Immediately after Laborde’s opener, Nice were in again but Khephren Thuram was unable to capitalise from an offside position after Terem Moffi couldn’t get a clean shot off.

And Morgan Sanson will feel aggrieved not to have been given a penalty when he pounced on Alexsandro’s loose backpass before Lucas Chevalier seemingly fouled the Nice midfielder.

However, that was one of Nice’s last chances of the game as they faded, and faded hard particularly into the second half.

Lille’s half-time team talk clearly did the job as they looked much hungrier after the break, harrying the home side further up the pitch with Nice unable to break through the block.

When they did, Chevalier looked to have his confidence back – he slid superbly feet-first to deny Moffi a golden scoring opportunity from yet another Lille backpass clanger.

But after the visitors looked allergic to scoring for most of the game, they punished Nice’s wasted chances when sub Gomes found the perfect cross for Diakite’s equaliser.

Nice splashed the cash in the transfer window, spending over 40 million euros to bring in Terem Moffi and Jeremie Boga for a revitalised attacking trio. Alongside Morgan Sanson, on loan from Aston Villa, Nice’s new arrivals injected real pace into the team and gelled with fellow attackers Thuram and Laborde.

Meanwhile, Jonathan David frequently ploughed a lonely furrow up top for Lille. The lost forwards Timothy Weah and Jonathan Bamba over the summer and that lack of creativity showed, with Remy Cabella unable to provide the service David required.

Diakite’s equaliser got the visitors out of jail on this occasion, but Paulo Fonseca may have to rethink his next starting lineup to create a more reliable pipeline in the final third.

Is the referee eligible for this? Benoit Bastien had an almost flawless game, the tight penalty call on Sanson notwithstanding, really none of the players put their hands up on the day. But when the Nice teamsheet was announced pre-game, Marcin Bulka’s inclusion certainly raised some eyebrows.

The Pole only played twice the whole of last season with fellow goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel the big-name arrival on the south coast of France. But Bulka certainly repaid Francesco Farioli’s faith in him, looking unbeatable for most of the evening.

Yes, Lille didn’t pose too much of a threat in their new-look, slimmed-down forward line but Nice errors still created plenty of chances for the away team.Bulka produced a fantastic double-save early on from Cabella and David, and prevented the latter scoring from point-blank range later in the half too.It’s unfair to lay too much blame for Lille’s equaliser at the Pole’s feet either. It was a devastating flick from Diakite allowing the ball to retain much of its momentum from Gomes’ cross and Bulka could rightly be disappointed in his defence.

Youth was a feature of Farioli’s first competitive squad, he’s previously worked under Roberto de Zerbi who employed a similar penchant for bringing through young talent – and based on this performance he’s done enough to earn at least one more start.

Nice: Bulka 8, Dante 7, Todibo 7, Atal 6, Bard 7, Ndayishimiye 6, Sanson 7, Thuram 7, Boga 6, Moffi 7, Laborde 7.. subs: Lotomba 6, Diop 6, Rosario 6, Guessand 7, Boudaoui 6

Lille: Chevalier 5, Ribiero 5, Diakite 7, Santos 6, Ismaily 5, Haraldsson 6, Cabella 6, Andre 5, Baleba 5, David 6, Virginius 5.. subs: Gomes 7, Zhegrova 5, Yazici 6, Gudmundsson 6

19’ – GOAL! Nice 1-0 Lille: Gaetan Laborde opens the scoring for Nice! Terem Moffi got the ball on the break after a Lille mistake and played in Laborde on the right, he dinked the keeper to score the first goal of the Lige 1 season.

41’ – WHAT A SAVE BULKA! Or should that be WHAT A MISS CABELLA!? The best passage of play so far for Lille saw Remy Cabella with the ball in space just six yards out, but he put his shot too close to Marcin Bulka who reacted well to flap the ball over the bar. Paulo Fonseca will be pleased his team are showing more signs of life but Cabella should’ve buried that.

44’ – Penalty for Nice? Lille have been gifting Nice chances all half but that might just take the cake, Alexsandro played the ball back to Lucas Chevalier but he thought he had more time on the ball as Morgan Sanson stole in.
Sanson looked like he got to the ball first before Chevalier seemingly brought him down but the referee was unmoved.

70’ – Lille sub almost has immediate impact: Alan Virginius has made way for Edon Zhegrova, and he could’ve scored with his first involvement! Jonathan David hit a shot straight at Marcin Bulka and the ball cannoned Zhegrova, but Dante hustled back to block the shot and maintain Nice’s clean sheet – for now at least.

75’ – More goals in this one? Evan Guessand has been a bright spark since coming on with half an hour to go and he nearly created Nice’s second goal, which would surely decide the game. He picked up the ball on a surging run into the Lille penalty area and made Alexsandro look like he wasn’t there before fizzing a ball across goal, and just out of reach from Sofiane Diop.

90+4’ GOAL! Nice 1-1 Lille – Where did that come from?! Lille won a free kick on the edge of the Nice penalty area and took an age to take it, but Bafode Diakite rose highest while the home defenders looked rooted to the spot.

• Just one win in six now for Francesco Farioli after a disappointing pre-season.
• 67.3% passing accuracy in opponent’s half for Nice, 10% less than Lille.