Back in the Europa League tonight, OGC Nice hosted the Dutch team Twente. They needed to get a result, or their hopes of qualification would diminish even further.
This was not the ideal scenario for our Eagles to get back on track in the Europa League. Caught off guard as early as the 8th minute by a beautiful goal from Daan Rots with a powerful cross-shot. Cleverly set up by his captain Youri Regeer at the penalty spot, the Niçois couldn’t have started the match worse against the Twente team, whom some had unjustly underestimated. The alarm had already been sounded as early as the second minute of play with a misunderstanding between Moise Bombito and Marcin Bulka, which almost resulted in a blunder.
The Dutch played with significantly more intensity in every duel, as the high level demands. They were aided by a rather permissive referee and a pressing approach that clearly indicated their offensive intentions, complicating the task for the Eagles as the minutes passed. The Niçois were visibly disconcerted by the fluidity and technical skill shown by their opponents.
The red and blacks instinctively retreated into defense. Representative of this was German striker Youssoufa Moukoko, who made his mark in the 34th minute with a good… defensive play!
Fear had chosen its side as the minutes went by. After several chances, the Dutch could have widened the gap, first through Tunisian international Sayfallah Ltaief (16th) and then his teammate Sam Lammers (19th and 25th). The Niçois would not wake from their lethargy until the 38th minute with a poorly aimed header from Tom Louchet, and then in the 39th minute (perhaps the best moment of this first half for OGC Nice) with a point-blank shot from Sofiane Diop.
The winning choices of Franck Haise
The second half needed to be more dynamic from the “Eagles” side if the Gym didn’t want to say goodbye to the Europa League prematurely. There was a clear desire among Franck Haise’s protégés. However, his Dutch counterpart Joseph Oosting had also given the right instructions to his players to maintain their offensive ambitions, exploiting the slightest defensive lapses from the Niçois.
And it was Marcin Bulka who proved decisive against Sam Lammers at first, then Michel Vlap, who had just come onto the field and struck the post with a long shot. The Polish goalkeeper was not blameless when Sam Lammers’ shot finally deceived him at the near post (0-2, 60′).
The comeback stemmed from Franck Haise’s tactical choice, who reacted by introducing three substitutes. A winning move, as seconds later, Jérémy Boga reignited the team’s spirits with a beautiful curling shot into the top corner (1-2, 66’), following great work from Badredine Bouannani. Towards the end of the match, Mohamed-Ali Cho, well-assisted by Jonathan Clauss, found the net (88th minute).
The Eagles set the Allianz Arena alight by coming from behind to salvage a point with a draw (2-2), after being 2-0 down until the hour of play and then being reduced to 10 men following Sofiane Diop’s expulsion (70’). The referee also sent off Dutch defender Bart van Rooij after he received a second yellow card (90’).
In the standings, Twente moves up two places to 26th, while Nice rises to 31st. The Niçois showed courage and remain alive in this Europa League phase.
Reactions:
Danté: “There was certainly more to be done tonight. I think we suffered a bit, especially in the first 25 minutes. We conceded the first goal a bit too early, which put us in difficulty. Afterward, we kept the desire to do well and improve, especially to hope to get back into the match. In the end, the (2-2) is quite a positive score considering we were down (0-2).”
Franck Haise: “We will need to win matches to hope to qualify. Something we haven’t managed to do so far. I’m not sure if we show a different face in the league and in Europe. We have interesting moments and then shortcomings. When you’re outplayed for a large part of the match, getting a (2-2) is the lesser evil. I make choices with the resources I have, that you may not necessarily have. I see the athletic difficulties. We make mistakes together.”
Nacym Djender
