Dressing-room flare-up to reset, Nice’s tumultuous week before Lens final | OneFootball

Reeling from a 0-0 draw with Metz that left them in the play-off, Nice have tried to reset before facing Lens in Friday’s Coupe de France final at 21:00. They trained at the Stade de France as if nothing had happened, or almost.

They landed at Le Bourget at 12:15, lunched, then completed a final session on a middling surface inside the showpiece arena. According to L'Équipe, the club are chasing a first trophy in 29 years, even as a two-legged tie with Saint-Étienne looms.

President Jean-Pierre Rivère told media the priority has shifted to the matches that follow, while stressing a cup final is never secondary. Claude Puel, the competitor, is thought to have struck a different tone inside the camp.

The coach first had to manage a flashpoint. Salis Abdul Samed questioned tactical choices after Metz, including shape and pressing, just as Puel entered the dressing room, the exchange escalated and the Ghana international was sidelined.

Abdul Samed then trained apart with Tanguy Ndombele, another player not in Puel’s plans for the final. Neither took part in the week’s three sessions, after a Monday off, and the squad reconvened on Tuesday with morale low.

Puel suggested adversity this season has hardened his group and that focus is now on the immediate task. Nice should be able to keep their players this week, notably Elye Wahi, Yéhvann Diouf and Antoine Mendy, and possibly Kojo Peprah Oppong, after securing federation approval.

Captain Dante, beaten 1-0 by Nantes in 2022, leaned on his experience. The hotel has switched to Enghien-les-Bains, a break from the Christophe Galtier pick that once preceded Saint-Étienne’s 1-0 League Cup win over Rennes.

Source: L'Équipe