There was pride, promise and ultimately frustration at the Allianz Riviera as Nice were held to a pulsating 3-3 draw by Lorient, despite Tom Louchet registering the first senior brace of his club career.
For a side still looking anxiously over its shoulder in the Ligue 1 table, the result extended Nice’s unbeaten home run to seven matches in all competitions, three wins and four draws. Yet the mood at full-time was anything but celebratory after conceding deep into stoppage time.
Nice, aware that their long-standing presence in the French top flight remains under threat, began with urgency. They struck early through Louchet, whose strength and determination proved decisive. Escaping his marker inside the area, he met a precise delivery from Mohamed-Ali Cho and guided the ball past Yvon Mvogo from close range.
The opener set the tone for a confident first half from the hosts. Lorient needed a response and gradually grew into the contest. Around ten minutes after falling behind, Théo Le Bris tested Maxime Dupé with a fierce drive, though the Nice goalkeeper was equal to it, gathering comfortably.
Chances were at a premium until the closing stages of the first period. When the breakthrough arrived again, it felt like a replay. Cho was once more the architect, delivering a dangerous cross-shot into the area that Louchet converted to double Nice’s advantage. The timing seemed ideal, but football often punishes complacency.
In the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, Pablo Pagis, Lorient’s leading scorer this season, produced a moment of real quality. From a long-range set piece, he unleashed a thunderous strike that flew beyond Dupé, cutting the deficit and injecting belief into the visitors.
That late goal shifted the momentum. Lorient resumed with renewed energy after the restart. Igor Silva and Bamba Dieng both came close, sending efforts narrowly wide as Nice briefly struggled to regain control.
The hosts responded just before the hour mark. Half-time substitute Kaïl Boudache needed only 13 minutes on the pitch to make his impact count. A well-constructed attacking move, involving Jonathan Clauss in the build-up, ended with Boudache calmly slotting beyond Mvogo to restore a two-goal cushion at 3-1.
It should have been the platform for three precious points. Instead, defensive lapses proved costly. In the 67th minute, Clauss brought down Noah Cadiou inside the area. Dieng stepped up and converted the resulting penalty with assurance, reducing the gap once more.
Nice appeared to steady themselves thereafter, managing the game and limiting clear openings. Their defensive organisation suggested they would see it through. However, deep into stoppage time, Lorient struck again. Cadiou found space and drove home an unstoppable equaliser, silencing the Allianz Riviera and ensuring the spoils were shared.
The draw carries significant implications. What could have been a nine-point buffer over the relegation playoff spot has narrowed. Nice now sit seven points above 16th-placed AJ Auxerre following Auxerre’s heavy defeat to Rennes earlier in the day. The margin remains, but it is slimmer than desired for a club intent on preserving a quarter-century of uninterrupted top-flight football.
For Lorient, the point keeps faint European ambitions alive. They remain five points adrift of the final qualification berth as they chase only a second appearance on the continental stage in their 99-year history.
In the end, Louchet’s landmark evening will be remembered as much for what slipped away as for what he achieved. Two goals marked personal progress, yet Nice were left confronting the same uncomfortable reality: in the battle for survival, fine margins define the season.
