AS Saint-Étienne vs OGC Nice

A cagey, goalless first leg at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard has left the Ligue 1 promotion-relegation playoff wide open. Saint-Étienne and Nice cancelled each other out across 90 tense minutes, with defensive discipline taking clear priority over attacking ambition. Nice were dealt an early setback when Charles Vanhoutte limped off injured inside the first quarter-hour, forcing an unplanned reshuffle. Despite shaking off that disruption to control 55% of possession, the visitors created just one big chance all night. Jonathan Clauss kept probing down the right with his deliveries, but nothing could unlock Saint-Étienne's backline. The evening's only booking fell to Saint-Étienne midfielder Abdoulaye Kanté, yellow-carded in the 63rd minute for serious foul play. With the aggregate score level at 0-0, everything rests on the second leg on May 29 at Nice's Allianz Riviera. Nice will have home advantage, but Saint-Étienne go there with nothing to lose and a clean sheet already in the bank.