OGC Nice captain Dante (40) defended the club’s playing style after Friday night’s 0-0 draw against Montpelllier HSC. Despite topping the Ligue 1 table, Les Aiglons have scored just 13 goals in the first 12 games of the season.
Nice’s success so far this season is predicated on defensive solidity. In the first 12 games, Francesco Farioli’s side have kept nine clean sheets, conceding just four goals in that time. They last conceded against Paris Saint-Germain on 15th September and Farioli said prior to the match against that “the will not to concede is really in [the club’s] DNA.”
Whilst the Riviera club have rightly earned plaudits for their defending, their lack of incision going forward has come in for criticism. However, Dante has defended the pragmatic play-style, which is allowing them to compete at the top of the table.
“We’re critical of ourselves. We know we can score more goals for sure. We want to score more, but we’re not conceding many either. We’re in the competition. We have to remain humble, we can’t want to put on a show. You have to be efficient and you can’t forget the objectives. We can’t want to show that we are really great players. No, we have to be efficient and respect the manager’s instructions,” said Dante in the mixed zone post-match.
Farioli is unbeaten as Nice manager and the club is yet to fall behind in any match since his arrival in the summer. Le Gym are currently top of Ligue 1, but will be caught should PSG or AS Monaco win on Saturday.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
