OGC Nice manager Francesco Farioli has raised concerns about Terem Moffi’s fitness level after his side’s 2-1 loss against Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 on Sunday.
The Nigerian forward gave the Eaglets the lead in the eighth minute but Toulouse found their way back in the second half thanks to goals from Thijs Dallinga and Yann Gboho.
Toulouse came back immediately Farioli took off Moffi and Melvin Bard and replaced them with Gaetan Laborde and Romain Perraud. He maintained that it was necessary to make those substitutions to bring new energy into the game.
“Individual errors are part and parcel of football, and we shouldn’t focus on them,” Farioli told the OGC website.
“With the two substitutions, we wanted to bring in a new mental and physical energy.
“Terem Moffi’s two months without training started to show in a very physical match like this, with lots of duels and open-field situations. It was becoming difficult for him to keep up the high-intensity action.
“And as for Melvin Bard, we had conceded three or four dangerous situations on his flank so, likewise, we wanted to bring in some fresh blood.”
7️⃣th goal by our No.9 this season ❤️????#OGCNice #TFCOGCN https://t.co/A2MvmuvgDS pic.twitter.com/uUrw3VKlcx
— OGC Nice ???????????????? (@ogcnice_eng) March 3, 2024
Moffi had been away on international duty with Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and featured just two times in the competition including playing five minutes in the final which the Super Eagles lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast.
Sunday’s game against Toulouse was his first goal and start since his return with his last two games against Olympique Lyon and Clermont Foot being off the bench.
Moffi has scored seven Ligue 1 goals this season which is one better than the six he scored when he joined on loan from Lorient in the second half of last season before it was made a permanent transfer last summer.
Nice have dropped to fifth place on the table but are just two points away from automatic Champions League qualification while they are 15 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
