Henry and Vieira share entertaining draw as Monaco held by 10-man Nice

Posted Thursday, January 17, 2019 by PA

Struggling Monaco remain without a home win in Ligue 1 this term as they failed to beat 10-man Nice – with former team-mates Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira sharing the spoils in the Cote d’Azur derby.

Henry’s Monaco came from behind to take what could prove to be a valuable point in their relegation battle as teenage defender Benoit Badiashile’s first senior goal cancelled out Allan Saint-Maximin’s opener at Stade Louis II.

Vieira and Henry played together at Arsenal and with the France national team but this was the first time they have met as managers as an entertaining game ended 1-1.

Nice missed the chance to win despite the sending off of Ihsan Sacko as Saint-Maximin missed a late penalty, while substitute Radamel Falcao came close to securing a rare victory for the home side.

📸 Keeping a close watch on proceedings: Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.
0⃣-1⃣ #ASMOGCN pic.twitter.com/PsvEGzveCj
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) January 16, 2019

Another former Arsenal man, Cesc Fabregas, was one of four Monaco players ineligible for the game having joined since the transfer window opened.

The match was rescheduled from December with Ligue 1 rules stating only players registered for the initial fixture date can take part.

There was no Mario Balotelli in the Nice squad as he continues to be linked with a move away from the Allianz Riviera.

Aleksandr Golovin should have opened the scoring early on after some poor Nice defending saw the Russia international played in by Moussa Sylla only to shoot straight at goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

Henry and Vieira share entertaining draw as Monaco held by 10-man Nice — Mario Balotelli was not in the Nice side (Nick Potts/PA)

More lackadaisical defending from the visitors saw Rony Lopes break through on the Nice goal before the half-hour mark only to blaze over a decent chance.

Moments later Vieira’s side took full advantage of their first clear opportunity as Youssef Ait Bennasser gave away possession in midfield before Saint-Maximin beat Jemerson to the bouncing ball and stroked home a calm finish to open the scoring.

The goal stood after a video assistant referee review, with Henry visibly unhappy with the defending from his side.

Nice’s first half was tarnished in stoppage time as Sacko was sent off as referee Benoit Bastien utilised VAR before showing the red card after a high challenge on Benjamin Henrichs.

Monaco were level shortly after the interval as Badiashile headed home Lopes’ corner despite the best efforts of Benitez, who clawed the ball away only for the goal-line technology to confirm it had already crossed the line.

Julien Serrano was guilty of missing a fine chance for Monaco as he headed over the crossbar from six yards having been picked out at the back post by Henrichs.

Golovin then stung the palms of Benitez as the hosts finally started to turn the screw, Henry introducing Falcao off the bench for the final 20 minutes.

Youri Tielemans fired wide before a rare foray forward from Nice led to a penalty as Badiashile tripped Youcef Atal, with Bastien utilising VAR to confirm his call.

FULL-TIME. It''s all over at the Stade Louis-II where an incident-packed Derby de la Côte d’Azur ends with the teams taking a point apiece.
1⃣-1⃣ #ASMOGCN pic.twitter.com/EbowANnL6b
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) January 16, 2019