OGC Nice made history in their first-half drubbing of AS Saint-Étienne, becoming the first team in the 21st century to score six goals in the first half of a Ligue 1 encounter.
Pre-match, there was already a festive atmosphere with Le Gym celebrating their 120th anniversary. It was a festival on the pitch too.
It took Nice just four minutes to open the scoring with Buduka Batubinsika turning Jonathan Clauss’ dangerous cross into his own net. Tanguy Ndombélé quickly doubled their advantage as Nice raced into a two-goal lead within the space of seven minutes.
The barrage was relentless but Les Aiglons had to wait a further 17 minutes before their third, which came courtesy of Mohamed-Ali Cho. A sumputous curled effort, his was the pick of the lot. Two minutes later, Youssoufa Moukoko got Nice’s fourth and his first for his new club.
Evann Guessand then got in on the act before Moukoko doubled his tally on the night. By half-time, ASSE had already made three changes and their fans had already deserted the stands. On what was already a historic night for Nice, celebrating their anniversary, they made some unexpected history too.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Nice