Nice work – Jim Ratcliffe’s French side are taking Ligue 1 by storm this season

Prospective Manchester United investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Nice are emerging as Ligue 1 title contenders this season.

While United suffered their fifth Premier League defeat of the campaign at the hands of local rivals City on Sunday, the French club – bought by Ratcliffe’s chemical company Ineos in August 2019 – ended the weekend unbeaten in 10 games and a point clear at the top of the table.

Here, Football Mad examines the data behind Nice’s impressive start to the campaign.

Flying high

Nice are enjoying their best start to a campaign since 2016-17, when they began with an 11-game unbeaten run on their way to finishing third – their highest league position since the mid-1970s.

The Ligue 1 leaders have won six and drawn four of their opening 10 matches, with their impressive form including away victories at second-placed Paris St Germain and third-placed Monaco.

Les Aiglons are soaring under the guidance of their young coach Francesco Farioli, who arrived in the summer as a relative unknown having spent just two years as a manager in the Turkish Super Lig.

The 34-year-old previously worked as a goalkeeping coach alongside Roberto De Zerbi at Benevento and Sassuolo between 2017 and 2020.

Farioli is Nice’s sixth permanent manager since the Ineos takeover in 2019, after Patrick Vieira, Adrian Ursea, Christophe Galtier, Lucien Favre and Didier Digard.

Top defence

Nice have conceded just four goals in their first 10 matches, which represents the best defensive record in Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues.

Inter Milan have shipped five goals, Juventus six and Manchester City seven. Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig have also conceded seven times, albeit having played a game fewer.

The French side’s incredible defensive effort is being led by former Brazil international Dante, who celebrated his 40th birthday on October 18 and is the oldest outfield player to have featured in the top five European leagues.

Despite being five-and-a-half years older than his manager Farioli, Dante is one of three Nice players to have played every minute in Ligue 1, alongside goalkeeper Marcin Bulka and defensive midfielder Youssouf Ndayishimiye.

Fellow central defender Jean-Clair Todibo – a rumoured transfer target for Manchester United – has been just as impressive in his nine starts, which have yielded seven clean sheets.

United have suffered a raft of defensive injuries this season and have conceded 16 goals, just one shy of their record-high after 10 games of a Premier League campaign.

Frontrunners

Thanks largely to an impenetrable defence, Nice are the only team in Europe’s big five leagues who are yet to fall behind in a game this season.

They took the lead in 1-1 draws against Lille and Lorient, and went 1-0 and 3-1 up in their 3-2 win over PSG.

Bundesliga and Serie A table-toppers Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan have trailed for 22 and 27 minutes respectively (excluding stoppage time), while PSG were behind for 45 in their defeat to Nice.

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham have spent 56 minutes in losing positions, the fewest of any Premier League team.

Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s United have trailed for a combined 355 minutes in 2023-24, equivalent to 40 per cent of their playing time.

Budget friendly

Nice are punching above their weight so far this term, having spent an estimated 155.5 million euros on players in their current squad, according to Transfermarkt.

That puts them fifth in Ligue 1 behind PSG (895.4m), Monaco (326.7m), Rennes (169.9m) and Marseille (160.7m).

Despite having Ratcliffe’s backing for the past four years, Nice have spent modestly, with summer signing Terem Moffi arriving for a club-record fee of 22.5m euros.

The Nigerian centre-forward is Les Aiglons’ top scorer this season with three goals.

In contrast, Manchester United’s squad has cost a combined 997.7m euros, with Chelsea being the only European club to have spent a greater amount on existing players (£1.02 billion).