One made Nice the best defense in the championship, the other put Rennes’ attack at the top: Christophe Galtier and Bruno Genesio meet on Saturday (5:00 p.m.) for a crucial duel in their race for the podium.
With a 6-1 against pale Messins before the break, Rennes confirmed the great form of their attack, which has averaged 4 goals per game in its last five outings in L1, and a total of 63 achievements. That’s four goals more than PSG and already better than all of the Rouge et Noir’s best totals over an entire season for several decades. “There is individual and collective quality and talent in this team“, Greeted Genesio after the victory against Metz. “There is an extraordinary state of mind in this group (…) We feel a collective strength that I have rarely felt». «It’s the best team right now.», assures Galtier. “Everything has been fine there for months. If we let it evolve and we fall into its trap, we could be in big trouble.».
This is a group that has been working well for over a year with him. It’s his paw. He is remarkable. His game reminds me of his work at OL, which had nevertheless been very criticized
Christophe Galtie
And the Nice coach sees the Genesio touch there: “Rennes has an insolent success, but he forces it. This is a group that has been working well for over a year with him. It’s his paw. He is remarkable. His game reminds me of his work at OL, which had nevertheless been very criticized». The two men have known and appreciated each other since their Lyon years, which began under the leadership of Alain Perrin in 2007/2008, although Galtier later branched out to his rival Stéphane. Both staff members at the time had put “barrels of oil» in the cogs for the transplant to lead to a great season for OL, which had then achieved the first Cup/Championship double in its history. Again rivals, they are both aiming for a place on the podium, synonymous with the Champions League next year. Rennes had taken the lead in the fall, but Nice got ahead of them, thanks in part to their 2-1 victory in December at Roazhon Park. That day, the Rennais had shown naivety in defense and a lack of success in attack, with a small goal for 42 crosses and 21 shots, including 8 on target. A double cute sin that has regularly played tricks on them this season.
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And the Nice, carried by their captain Dante, who is having one of his best seasons despite his 38 years and his serious knee injury last season, are still as intractable in defense, with only 23 goals conceded this season. Before their 2-1 defeat in Marseille, they had kept a clean sheet for five matches, including against PSG (1-0), having played an hour at ten in Montpellier (0-0) and finished at nine in Strasbourg (0-0).
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Since then, Rennes has regained 3rd place, two lengths ahead. To go back in front, Nice will have to score. However, the Gym is stalling in this area, with only three goals in its last seven L1 matches. Even Amine Gouiri (10 goals and 7 assists in L1) has been silent since January in the league. “We have to defend well, that’s obvious, but we have to do more offensively“, insists Galtier. “We have few crosses, corners, set pieces, and we are not dangerous enough“. The return to form of Justin Kluivert after muscular problems, and the combined talents of Youssef Atal and Hicham Boudaoui, although stunned by the failure of Algeria in the play-off for the World Cup-2022, could help put a little madness in the Nice game, at the start of the final sprint.
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