Article by Dragoș Petrescu – Published on Saturday, 03 January 2026, 22:41 / Updated on Saturday, 03 January 2026 23:00
nice and Strasbourg drew 1-1 at Allianz Riviera in a match of the round with #17 Ligue 1. This match may have been Liam Rosenior's last match on the bench for 'Les Bleu et Blanc' as he is seen as the main favorite to replace Enzo Maresca at the helm Chelsea.
The full schedule of round #17 of Ligue 1
After Enzo Maresca and Chelsea decided to end their collaboration, the officials of the group at Stamford Bridge are in a fierce search for a new technician, and Liam Rosenior is seen, according to several sources, as the main favorite to take over the technical bench of the Londoners.
And the reasons are multiple. The main reason is that Chelsea and Strasbourg share the same management, namely BlueCo, a consortium led by Todd Boehly, Mark Walter, Hansjörg Wyss and the private firm Clearlake Capital Group.
Also, the notable performances achieved by the French club in recent times are mainly due to the 41-year-old technician, who managed to qualify Strasbourg for the European cups, and more than that, he managed to finish in the first position in the single group of the UEFA Conference League this season.
Nice – Strasbourg 1-1 » Last match for Rosenior before arriving at Stamford Bridge?
Things are looking good for Strasbourg and internally, the French club is still engaged in the cup, and in the championship they are fighting with real chances to repeat the goal achieved in the previous season.
Today, however, the result recorded by “Les Bleu et Blanc” was not what Rosenior and his students had hoped for. Although they led 1-0 in Nice, thanks to Joaquin Panichelli's penalty kick (13th minute), those from Strasbourg did not leave the Allianz Riviera victorious.
The home team's equalizing goal and, at the same time, the one that would close the table, was signed by Elye Wahi (54'), a footballer introduced on the field at halftime by Claude Puel. Thus, the two teams shared their points.
Throughout his coaching career, Liam Rosenior has also trained (in addition to Strasbourg, which he coaches from 2024) Hull City and Derby County // PHOTO: Imago Images
Following this result, those from Strasbourg have accumulated 24 points, and if Liam Rosenior leaves for Chelsea, he will leave the group from Stade de la Meinau in 7th place in France, with a deficit of four lengths compared to Rennes, the team in 6th place, the last position that ensures participation in the European cups in the following season.
On the other hand, those from Nice reached the milestone with number 18, and at this moment, Claude Puel's team occupies the 13th place in the ranking.
Ligue 1 standings:
OGC Nice – RC Strasbourg » Starting teams:
OGC NICE (4-3-3): Dupe – Clauss, Bah, Peprah, Bard – Pereira, Ndombele, Sanson – Cho, Diop, Gouveia
reserves: Zelazowski – Abdul, Bouard, Brignone, Diallo, Mantsounga, Nguene, Wahl, Youssouf
Coach: Claude Puel
RC STRASBOURG (3-4-3): Penders – Hogsberg, Doukoure, Chilwell – Ouattara, El Mourabet, Barco, Moreira – Enciso, Panichelli, Godo
reserves: Johnsson – Ameyaw, Amougou, Lemarechal, Luis, Nzingoula, Paez, Sobol, Sylla
Coach: Liam Rosenior
Stadium: Allianz Riviera (Nice)
Referee: Clement Turpin
