Nice halts Monaco revival with 1-0 victory in the Cote d'Azur derby

Nice halted the Monaco revival as an early free-kick from Carlos Eduardo earned the visitors a 1-0 victory in the Cote d'Azur derby.

After offloading Colombian forwards James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao to Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively, the Monaco team of 2014-15 lacks the star power of its previous guise and they were languishing close to the foot of Ligue 1 in its early stages.

Three wins in a row, with a Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen followed by domestic successes against Montpellier and Guingamp, looked to have given Monaco new momentum.

But Eduardo's seventh-minute goal at the Stade Louis II, and the three points it delivered, showed manager Leonardo Jardim has a considerable job ahead of him if Monaco are to again challenge for a lofty finish, having finished second to Paris St Germain last term.

Awarded a free-kick 25 yards out from goal, Nice wedged Alassane Plea and Mathieu Bodmer in the Monaco wall and their presence proved telling.

Brazilian midfielder Eduardo, on loan from Porto, whipped his shot through a gap created by Plea and Bodmer ducking out of the ball's path and it skidded off the turf on its way into the bottom left corner, out of the reach of goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.

Layvin Kurzawa saw a header cleared off the line by Nampalys Mendy as Monaco looked for an equaliser but at the other end Eduardo threatened to score for a second time, denied by a last-ditch challenge from Andrea Raggi.

Nice had the bulk of the chances in the second half, Eduardo inches away with a header just before the hour mark before Gregoire Puel sent a 25-yard volley only narrowly off target.

Subasic had to be sharp to thwart Eric Bautheac soon afterwards when the former Cannes and Dijon midfielder directed Jordan Amavi's cross on target.

There was a late threat to the Nice goal as Yannick Carrasco released Fabinho, but his 25-yard shot cleared the crossbar.

ends