Europa League | Beaten by Lazio in torrential rain (4-1), Nice does not take off

Sad cold shower for OGC Nice in Rome. Opposed to Lazio, the Aiglons were no match for realism, and lost (4-1) Thursday during the 2nd day of the Europa League league phase. A fairly logical defeat in the course of the game, which was nevertheless largely impacted by heavy rain and a flooded pitch.

Franck Haise and his men knew, before going onto the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico, that this second day of the Europa League would be difficult against Lazio. In good form in the championship as in Europe, the Roman team approached this part with much more confidence than their opponent, and it was felt.

Nice first got their foot on the ball, keeping it for the first 12 minutes, without necessarily worrying the opposing team. It was at the end of this time that Lazio began to accelerate and offer themselves interesting opportunities. The Romans also hit the crossbar twice: on a header from Taty Castellanos (12th) and a rejected strike from Adam Marusic (14th). It was ultimately Pedro who scored the first goal with a superb left-footed shot under the bar, after recovering a ball from a corner that he had taken himself (20th, 1-0).

The second goal arrived a quarter of an hour later, after a perfect lob from Castellanos against a Marcin Bulka left abandoned by his defense (35th, 2-0). Just before the break, Jérémie Boga reduced the gap after a superb one-two played with Youssoupha Mokaka in front of the area, and a shot into the side net (41st, 2-1).

After the break, Rome put their foot back on the accelerator, once again showing themselves to be very dangerous. Castellanos, a real devil this evening, then took the opportunity to make the entire Nice defense dance, with an individual action against the defense, before sending the ball into the top corner (53rd, 3-1). It was at the hour mark that the level of the match deteriorated, due to the pitch being completely flooded by very heavy rain, preventing both teams from producing much.

Lazio still benefited from a generous penalty obtained by Castellanos after contact in the area with Bulka (65th). Coming into play at the break, Mattia Zaccagni did not tremble to put his team away with a third goal difference (67th, 4-1). Despite the interesting entries of Evann Guessand and Sofiane Diop, Nice never managed to instill the spirit of revolt necessary for the comeback.

After the draw against Real Sociedad (1-1) a week ago, Nice fell this time on the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico, and thus got off to a very bad start to their European campaign. For its part, Lazio has a second victory in the Europa League, as well as a fourth victory in five matches, synonymous with very good form for Marco Baroni’s team.