Five-star Nice power on

The blistering form Nice showed before the Christmas break continued as they hit Valenciennes for five.

The blistering form Nice showed before the Christmas break continued as Claude Puel's men hit Valenciennes for five. Les Aiglons were brilliant prior to the season's mid-point, with a win over Paris St Germain the highlight of an impressive run, and 2013 looks as though it could be just as successful on this evidence. They had to wait until the final minute of the first half to take the lead, Dario Cvitanich doing the trick, but the goals flowed after the break, with Cvitanich getting his second while Renato Civelli, Valentin Eysseric and Didier Digard also chipped in. All in all it was a day to forget for Valenciennes, who returned north with little to shout about other than Gaetan Bong's eighth-minute shot that was blocked by Joris Delle. It was all Nice after that, with a dominant first-half showing merely paving the way for Cvitanich's opener. The Argentinian striker was a menace throughout, shooting just wide from 30 yards early on while Kevin Diaz twice went close. It was Cvitanich who would open the scoring, though, taking in Digard's pass and outpacing Nicolas Isimat-Mirin before beating Nicolas Penneteau. The goal could not have been better timed from Nice's point of view and they started the second half buoyantly, with Digard nearly setting up Lloyd Palun. A second did come a minute before the hour, though, with Civelli on hand to score from close range after Eric Beatheac's free-kick found him. Two quickly became three as Valenciennes fell apart, with Eysseric taking in a Diaz pass and racing almost the length of the field before crashing in an unstoppable shot beyond Penneteau with 65 minutes on the clock. The in-form Cvitanich then made it four, slotting in from inside the six-yard box following Timothee Kolodziejczak's cross, before Digard wrapped things up with three minutes left, driving home well at the back post after a fine cross from Cvitanich.