Jean-Pierre Rivere puts Lens – Nice final behind survival fight
Nice face Lens in lens – nice on Friday at the Stade de France, but the club's immediate fight is next week. Jean-Pierre Rivere has made the priority plain: the two-legged play-off against Saint-Etienne comes first for Nice.
Rivere backs survival first
“It is still a final, so of course we will give our all. But the two matches that come after are more important. We want to stay in Ligue 1. That is our only ambition.”
That is the reality around Nice after a season that ended with them in the relegation play-off place. They won just two of their last 24 games, and that slump has left the French Cup final carrying a split meaning: a chance at silverware, and a backdrop to a survival test that cannot wait.
Lens arrive as favourites
Claude Puel set the tone from Nice's side with a blunt assessment of the opponent. “Lens are favourites and this will practically be a home game for them. They are almost obliged to win.”
He has a point. Authorities expected up to 50,000 Lens supporters inside the 80,000-seat Stade de France, and Lens finished second to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. They are also chasing a first French Cup title, having lost all three of their previous final appearances.
Nice carry old scars
Nice's own history underlines the stakes. Their last French Cup win came in 1997, the same year they were last relegated, and the club now needs a two-legged play-off next week against Saint-Etienne to avoid going down again.
The mood around the squad has been strained for months. Last week's 0-0 draw with Metz ended with angry fans invading the pitch and throwing smoke bombs, and Nice were then ordered to play the home leg of the play-off behind closed doors. That leaves Friday's final with noise in the stands and pressure everywhere else.
Lens bring Florian Thauvin into the final as their leading attacker after he just missed out on France's World Cup squad. Nice, meanwhile, are trying to use one match for a trophy and another for their top-flight future, with Rivere's words making clear which outcome the club cannot afford to miss.
