UEFA Europa League, Round 2, 03/10/24
OGC Nice succumbed to the first defeat of their UEFA Europa League campaign, losing 4-1 to Lazio amid impracticable conditions in Rome.
The Match
Amid torrential conditions in Rome, Nice tried to weather the storm early on. Valentin Castellanos and Matías Vecino both struck the woodwork within three minutes as Lazio applied the pressure early on. It eventually counted. Jonathan Clauss cleared Patric’s initial effort off the line, however, Pedro, who had taken the corner in the lead-up to the chance, steamed in, curling a sumptuous effort in off the underside of the bar.
However, having scored, Lazio dropped off, allowing Nice to grow into the game. Le Gym looked dangerous and had good territory over a 15-minute period but failed to create anything clear cut. In contrast, Lazio were efficient in poseession and, against the run of play, they doubled the lead through Castellanos, who profited from a Youssouf Ndayishimiye error to race through one-on-one and beat Marcin Bulka.
But Nice would get their reward before the break. Jérémie Boga finished off a lovely team move, latching onto Youssoufa Moukoko’s chip around the corner and volleying into the bottom corner.
The rain continued to fall throughout the second half as the pitch became increasingly impracticable. In those conditions, one team learned to adapt – Lazio. Castellanos doubled his account with another strong finish after latching onto a ball in behind. The Serie A side then went three goals ahead after Castellanos went down in the box after Bulka advanced from his goal.
The referee pointed to the spot, Bulka pleaded that there was no contact and replays seemed to back-up his claim. However, VAR did not intervene and Mattia Zaccagni did the rest from the spot. By the 65-minute mark, the pitch was so sodden that it became impossible to dribble and it became a long-ball match
Substitute Evann Guessand almost pulled one back after getting in behind but Nice could not force a comeback and by the end, Franck Haise, with Paris Saint-Germain coming up on Sunday, had given up hope. The substitions of key players at least read like that, whilst he was also locked in discussions with match officials regarding the state of the worsening pitch. The game ended 4-1 as Nice succumbed to their first defeat of the European campaign.
Nice player ratings
Marcin Bulka – 5
Dante – 5
Moïse Bombito – 5
Youssouf Ndayishimiye – 3
At fault for Lazio’s scond, the converted centre-back struggled to contend with Castellanos throughout.
Tom Louchet – 6
Pablo Rosario – 5
Hicham Boudaoui – 4
Jonathan Clauss – 6
A definite bright spark and a source of threat for Nice, especially in the first-half. He owes his career for the France national team to Haise and, nor reuinited at Nice, the former Lens manager is once again getting the best out of Clauss. His link-up play with Bouanani was strong throughout and his distribution caused the Lazio defence plenty of issues.
Jonathan Boga – 7
A threat in the first half and he took his goal brilliantly. The pitch didn’t suit his play style and as it became impossible to carry the ball forward, his influence, logically, waned.
Youssoufa Moukoko – 5
Badredine Bouanani – 5
