Nice enter Ligue 1 relegation play-off after being held to goalless draw by Metz

[p]If Claude Puel’s side could have cherry-picked a fixture they needed to win in order to avoid the play-off lottery, it surely would have been a home match against the division’s bottom club with the worst defensive record across Europe’s top-five leagues.[/p][p]However, the already-relegated visitors certainly didn’t read the script after making a fine start here, shredding the hosts’ nerves even further.[/p][p]Nice shot-stopper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diouf-yehvann/xCg7OFVE/"]Yehvann Diouf[/a] was twice called into action to parry away efforts by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/abuashvili-giorgi/GjMgNbCi/"]Giorgi Abuashvili[/a] and Believe Munongo in the opening 20 minutes, before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kvilitaia-giorgi/rPbPeGF4/"]Giorgi Kvilitaia[/a] headed over from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hein-gauthier/06rZTKMc/"]Gauthier Hein[/a]'s corner.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="480807ff-4ed9-45d3-88aa-5caaf40b0a80" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="202f885a-19f2-4098-b0cc-05704f46a42b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nice/YagoQJpq/"]Les Aiglons[/a] looked to gain a foothold themselves with off-target attempts for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diop-sofiane/8fA5XmQC/"]Sofiane Diop[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/abdi-ali/h4HteEDA/"]Ali Abdi[/a], but early goals elsewhere for rivals [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/auxerre/MTLr36WA/"]Auxerre[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/le-havre/CIEe04GT/"]Le Havre[/a] added to the anxious atmosphere inside the Allianz Riviera.[/p][p]The hosts needed a morale booster from somewhere, and Diop looked to provide it with a right-footed strike from the edge of the box which sailed inches wide of the post as half time approached.[/p][p]Nice showed more urgency after the restart with a flurry of activity inside the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/metz/4v0yqlWc/"]Metz[/a] box. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cho-mohamed-ali/xOd4FVMQ/"]Mohamed-Ali Cho[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dante/nNPcDNFr/"]Dante[/a] both missed the target with their respective headers from Abdi’s cross and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/clauss-jonathan/Ag37eHIn/"]Jonathan Clauss[/a]’ corner, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fischer-jonathan/ARK8rbG6/"]Jonathan Fischer[/a] was called into action to keep out Diop’s low effort.[/p][p]Puel’s side continued to push forward, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sanson-morgan/n5LaWeHr/"]Morgan Sanson[/a] threaded a delightful pass towards Cho, who prodded his attempt agonisingly wide of the far post.[/p][p]That frustration in the final third was epitomised when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wahi-sepe-elye/8jdHWf50/"]Elye Wahi[/a] worked his way into a promising position in the box, but failed to engineer a chance for himself.[/p][image alt="Momentum graph" id="fff44091-477b-41dc-90dc-98835adf784d" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="0228f8e8-e146-49f6-99fd-ca036df7324c" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]This point ensures Nice finish 16th in the table, meaning they must now overcome [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/st-etienne/YL2QybFe/"]Saint-Étienne[/a] in a two-legged tie to extend their 24-year stay in Ligue 1.[/p][p]This peculiar campaign could still end with silverware though, as Les Aiglons prepare to contest the Coupe de France final against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lens/IBmris38/"]Lens[/a] next Friday.[/p][p]Meanwhile, Benoît Tavenot’s men showed some admirable fight in their top-flight swansong ahead of making an immediate return to Ligue 2 next season.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/peprah-kojo/0p2cXdQ4/"]Kojo Peprah[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nice/YagoQJpq/"]Nice[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/metz-4v0yqlWc/nice-YagoQJpq/summary/stats/?mid=QcrGUcoL"]Check out all the match stats with Flashscore[/a][/b][/p]