PLAYER RATINGS | Nantes 1-4 OGC Nice: Mohamed-Ali Cho helps Claude Puel’s side distance themselves from relegation battle | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Matchday 19, 25/01/26

OGC Nice beat FC Nantes (1-4) thanks to goals from Mohamed-Ali Cho, Sofiane Diop, and Tom Louchet a win which distances themselves somewhat from the relegation battle, in which Les Canaris are still mired.

The Match

This was a relegation six-pointer. It was not a situation that Nice would have expected at the start of the campaign, but it was their reality, with the club in 15th, just one place above Nantes, going into the game. 

But if there were any nerves, Cho’s early strike for Le Gym would have eased them. He struck from 20 yards out, benefitting from an excellent dummy run from Elye Wahi and an overlapping run from Morgan Sanson, which gave him the space to find the bottom left-hand corner of Anthony Lopes’ goal.

It was Cho at the double just over 10 minutes later as he got in front of Nicolas Cozza and reached Morgan Sanson’s cross, volleying home at the near post. It would get worse for Nantes before the break as Diop got in on the act after Tylel Tati’s attempted clearance found the Moroccan, who accepted the invitation to tap into the empty net.

Nantes fans make their displeasure known

The Brigade Loire, and the rest of Le Beaujoire for that matter, then began to deride their own team, sarcastically oléing Nice’s passes and sarcastically cheering a tepid Cozza effort on target. But those home fans were given a glimmer of hope when Mostafa Mohamed headed home from a corner just before half-time.

But the Brigade Loire exited soon after half-time. They missed Nantes going close to reducing the deficit to just one goal. It was Mohamed’s header that hit the post, rebounding into Charles Vanhoutte, who almost put the goal into his own net. And then just moments later, Tati saw a header cleared off the line by Clauss.

Cho then had the chance to put the game to bed and to complete his hat-trick in the 84th minute but he fluffed his lines, dragging wide when put through on goal. Nice would get a fourth thanks to Tom Louchet’s deflected shot in extra time.

OGC Nice player ratings

Maxime Dupé – 6

Ali Abdi – 5

Kojo Peprah Oppong – 5

Juma Bah – 5

Jonathan Clauss – 6

Morgan Sanson – 7

Out of the team for the first half of the season, he has been the major benefactor of Puel’s arrival at Nice. The Frenchman has also been given the armband, with Dante once again out. He registered an assist but also played a part in the first goal with his overlapping run, providing the space for Cho to strike. More generally, he has been an important player for Nice both in and out of possession.

Charles Vanhoutte – 5

Salis Abdul Samed – 4

Sofiane Diop – 6

Elye Wahi – 7

The Eintracht Frankfurt loanee was a livewire and was always lurking on the shoulder of the last man. His runs weren’t always found by his teammates but he kept making them regardless. He was also selfless in making the dummy run to open the space for Cho’s opener. He lacked a finishing touch, missing two chances from a tight angle at the start of the half.

Mohamed-Ali Cho – 8

Cho has looked way off his best for much of the season, but he seemed to rediscover his confidence at the Beaujoire. His finish for the first goal was excellent and that gave him the confidence for his second, obtained thanks to a striker’s instinct to get in front of his man. His second half was more sloppy, defined by some poor choices and poor execution in the final third, but the damage was already done. 

Selected Nantes player ratings

Matthis Abline – 3

The Frenchman is currently a shadow of the player who lit up Ligue 1 last season. He is generally less involved and he is even more rarely put in the conditions in which he thrives. There was no moment in which he had the chance to run at the defence down the left-hand side, as he loves to do. Naturally, his confidence is dinted and it showed today.

Chidozie Awaziem – 3

Nicolas Cozza – 3

GFFN | Luke Entwistle