OGC Nice are now winless in their last six away matches across all competitions, after the 10-man Eaglets drew 2-2 with Monaco at Stade Louis II in Ligue 1.
On the back of a late morale-boosting midweek draw with Manchester City in their second UEFA Champions League matchday, Monaco knew a win against an inconsistent Nice would see them go joint-top of Ligue 1 for the time being.
It was the visitors who started brighter, however, and after seeing Antoine Mendy’s goal ruled out for offside, the Eaglets took a lead for which they were full value, when Sofiane Diop’s right-footed curling effort from the left edge of the area somehow found the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
Despite seeing Ali Abdi dismissed for a second yellow card – which shouldn’t have come as a surprise, given that four of Monaco’s last five games had featured a red card either way – Nice then managed to double their advantage, when Krepin Diatta’s handball gave Diop the chance to find the net from 12 yards for his second goal of the afternoon.
Now desperately needing a response, Monaco were awarded a spot-kick of their own in first half stoppage time when Antoine Mendy handled the ball, and Ansu Fati’s spot-kick snuck past Yehvann Diouf to give them renewed belief heading into half-time.
With a man advantage and momentum from their goal just before the interval, all of the signs pointed towards a second half turnaround from Monaco, and it only took the Red and Whites until 11 minutes after the restart to get back on level terms.
A clumsy challenge on Willy Delajod from Moise Bombito resulted in a penalty, with a double whammy seeing the defender booked before being taken off on a stretcher.
Fati duly converted from the spot for his second goal of the afternoon, putting the hosts in a strong position to go on and find a winner.
To Nice’s credit, they were able to withstand the Monaco onslaught, and dug in to earn a point which sees them remain 12th, while the hosts missed the chance to join a four-way tie for top spot in Ligue 1.