For this 4th day of the Europa League, OGC Nice had the obligation to deliver a result at home against the Germans from Freiburg. It was missed again…
It wasn’t just the ball that was deflated that night. With zero points in three games in this new Europa League season, OGC Nice was in a very bad position. Tied for last place with the Glasgow Rangers, the Aiglons absolutely had to get a result at their home ground, the Allianz Riviera against Freiburg, undefeated so far in this competition.
To achieve this, Franck Haise opted for a very offensive 5-2-3, with Ali Abdi and Tiago Gouveia in piston roles associated with Melvin Bard in a back three. The offensive play was led by Kevin Carlos, Jérémie Boga, and Sofiane Diop, the latter playing as the playmaker.
Aware of the importance of this match, the Gym pressed forward at the start. Nice played long and won their duels. Kevin Carlos, starting at the tip of the attack, was lively on several occasions. The Iberian striker was well contained by the German defense. Nice pressed and played high, but almost got surprised at the quarter-hour mark by a good run from Junior Adamu, well managed by Antoine Mendy.
A few minutes later, Sofiane Diop retrieved the ball in midfield and made the difference with a beautiful outside-foot pass. Charles Vanhoutte followed up and provided a superb assist to Kevin Carlos, who finally found the net and beat the Freiburg goalkeeper (1-0). This breakthrough allowed OGC Nice to lead for the first time under Franck Haise in a Europa League match. The Red and Blacks even came very close to doubling their lead with another moment of brilliance from an authoritative Sofiane Diop early in the match.
Melvin Bard gives the match to Freiburg
However, the high level is unforgiving. Melvin Bard, captain for the night, alone in the left corner of the penalty area, foolishly lost possession. Yuito Suzuki recovered it, and the Japanese player managed to serve Joah Manzambi, who beat Yehvann Diouf (1-1), just four minutes after the opening goal. The Gym barely tasted the joy of being ahead, especially since Freiburg bounced back. Or rather, Melvin Bard propelled the Freiburg team forward.
The Germans put the Nice goalkeeper to the test after an intervention by Juma Bah. From the corner, the Nice captain failed to clear, and Yuito Suzuki, once again, retrieved the ball and provoked an undeniable penalty attributed to Melvin Bard, who appeared stunned and visibly uncomfortable in this position. Vincenzo Grifo made no mistake and scored (1-2, 39th minute).
The Germans targeted the Nice defender, struggling to regain confidence, and came very close to scoring a third goal shortly after, with a through ball to Derry Scherhant. It was only delayed by a few seconds. Freiburg laid siege to the Red and Black’s penalty area, and the German striker concluded with a beautiful pass from Matthias Ginter. In under fifteen minutes, the Gym had completely sunk, despite being so close to increasing their lead. All this under the watchful eye of Dante, in the stands, busy taking photos with the few fans present, while his team trailed (1-3) at halftime.
Nevertheless, Charles Vanhoutte did not want to admit defeat: “We’re good in the game, but we’re giving away goals. We’re lacking precision in the last thirty meters. If we score the second, we can come back.”
OGC Nice injects some pace
In the second half, Franck Haise decided to switch to a 4-3-3. Ali Abdi paid the price, giving way to Mohamed-Ali Cho. Nice were doing well, and the Diop/Carlos duo made their mark. The defense of the men in blue held firm and, in turn, provoked the Nice players. On a corner, they came very close to sealing the match when Yehvann Diouf completely missed his clearance. Fragile, the Gym tried desperately to revive itself. Salis Abdul Samed came close to hitting the target, but his attempt was unsuccessful. Kevin Carlos then had another opportunity, followed by a lackluster performance from Jérémy Boga, who was blocked by the Freiburg defense at the hour mark.
The Aiglons pushed forward and came close to disaster when the first scorer of the day regained possession, finding himself one-on-one with the inspired Nice goalkeeper.
The intensity of the match waned when the coaches decided to make substitutions a little over twenty minutes from the end. The entries of Morgan Sanson, Hicham Boudaoui, and Tom Louchet did not have the desired impact. Mohamed-Ali Cho tried to take charge of the game, as did Melvin Bard, looking for redemption on his revived left side — in vain!
Opportunities multiplied for OGC Nice, but time elapsed, and the score remained unchanged. Insufficiently precise in the final action, Franck Haise’s men experienced another defeat in this Europa League. This result further diminishes the chances for the Nice team to qualify for the playoffs. To achieve this, the Azuréens will need to perform flawlessly until the end of their European campaign. This will begin with a challenging away match in Portugal, on the pitch of FC Porto, at the end of the month.
Before that, Nice will travel to Metz, on Sunday, to try and get back on track. Kick-off at 5:15 PM.
