When Nice were taken over by billionaire Bob Ratcliffe in 2019, the aim was to compete with Paris Saint-Germain for the Ligue 1 title. In the club’s first season under Ratcliffe’s ownership failed to fight for the title, but the Eagles finished fifth and qualified for the Europa League.
Nice were brilliant in the 2019-20 season achieving 41 points in 28 games as Ligue 1 was canceled in March. The club tallied 5.38 points more than were expected.
Patrick Vieira’s team have picked up right where they left off last season. After two matchdays, they are atop Ligue 1 with a 100% record – although Paris Saint-Germain are yet to play a game.
Nice’s two matches demonstrated two different sides of the team. Matchday 1 witnessed the Eagles come from a goal down to claim a 2-1 win versus Lens. Matchday 2 saw Nice smother Strasbourg limiting them to six shots with zero landing on target.
Vieira has proven himself to be a defence-first coach capable of setting out his team to limit opponents’ chances. In 180 minutes of football in 2020-21, Nice have allowed just one goal while scoring four times.
If there is an issue Vieira should be concerned with it is the team’s attack. Against Lens, two Amine Gouiri strikes sunk the newly promoted side. A week later, Kasper Dolberg’s two goals – one from the penalty spot, one from open play – led to all three points being claimed.
More difficult games are on the horizon with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon, and Marseille to come. There are also Rennes, who have been one of Ligue 1’s best sides over the last 18 months.
Nice are already overachieving after just two matchdays. They have recorded six points compared to their expected points of 2.47. Their expected goals number is 1.39 which has been crushed after two games as Gouiri and Dolberg have combined for four goals in total.
The club could benefit from Paris Saint-Germain's August Champions League campaign. In spite of the capital club getting an extra week to prepare for the Ligue 1 campaign, the loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League final could be their undoing in the domestic title race this term.
Nice do not have to wait long to face off with Paris Saint-Germain. The two clubs will meet on Sunday, September 20 in the marquee match of the day at 12 pm.
Can Vieira and Nice provide a title challenge to Paris Saint-Germain? If they can take points off of the Parisians in late September, they very well could. However, it is a situation in which Nice must show us they can grab points from Paris Saint-Germain to prove it is possible.