Balogun the villain for Monaco as Nice leave it late to take derby spoils
Balogun was the hosts’ big-name signing this summer, and although he opened his account in the draw with Lorient last time out, the ex-Arsenal marksman’s nightmare outing began when Marcin Bulka palmed away his tame spot-kick in the opening quarter of an hour, with dependable penalty-taker Wissam Ben Yedder watching on blank-faced from the bench.
The visitors were wasteful in front of goal until the end of the half, with Sofiane Diop missing the bulk of the chances against his former club.
But dangerman Terem Moffi, who scored twice in Monaco last season and against Paris Saint-Germain last week, began gradually exerting his influence on the contest.
It was therefore no surprise to see the sharp-shooting Nigerian cause problems at Stade Louis-II, and his low effort across goal forced Philipp Kohn into a smart save before the interval.
The spotlight returned to Balogun minutes into the second period, when referee Benoit Millot awarded another penalty for a foul on Takumi Minamino.
Up stepped the 22-year-old, who opted for power in an attempt to make amends, but Bulka again got in the way to leave Monaco’s frontman scratching his head.
There was still time for the two sides to trade big chances before the final whistle, with Youssouf Ndayishimiye heading onto the crossbar for the visitors before Boga netted a stoppage-time winner into the bottom-right corner.
The result propels Les Aiglons above Monaco at the top of the table, sealing back-to-back league wins for the first time since February.
Adi Hutter’s Rouges et blancs, meanwhile, will be left to rue what should have been, ahead of a tough clash with Marseille up next.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marcin Bulka (Nice)
