Axel Allag, Media365, published on Thursday November 7, 2024 at 8:43 p.m.
Nice avoided a fiasco in the Europa League, by snatching a draw against Twente numerically inferior for a few minutes (2-2). The Aiglons have still not won a match in the tournament.
“It’s one of the five matches that we have to win,” said Franck Haise, who then set the objective of three victories in the rest of this Europa League in order to qualify for the rest of the tournament. The top 8 appears like a mirage and the draw snatched this Thursday against Twente will not help to calm the debates around the level of the Aiglons in Europe. The much-desired first victory did not arrive but Nice at least knew not to lose, which was not a given given the nature of the match.
Without Jonathan Clauss and Evann Guessand from the start – placed on the bench – Nice quickly experienced a mishap with Twente opening the score after a three-way action between Besselink, Regeer and Rots, at the conclusion (0-1 , 8th). Stunned, the Aiglons then suffered a lot without being able to react efficiently. The small push a few minutes before the break, symbolized by Sofiane Diop's shot – blocked by Tyton – was not enough and, at half-time, it was Nice who had to turn the situation around.
Halfway, Nice still hasn't taken off
And the worst finally happened because Twente doubled the lead on the hour mark, thanks to the individual feat achieved by Lammers (0-2, 60th). Franck Haise therefore had no other choice than to mobilize his sidelines and in the wake of the entries of Evann Guessand and Jérémie Boga, the latter gave momentum to the locals by reducing the score with a strike of law (1-2, 66th). A momentum that we thought was broken a few minutes later with the expulsion of Sofiane Diop, guilty of a foul on Regeer and sent off (72nd).
But that was without counting on the mental resources of a Gym which was able to return to equality thanks to Mohamed-Ali Cho (2-2, 88th). In a hot end to the match played 10 against 10 after the expulsion of Van Rooij (90th), it could have gone one way or the other, but the score therefore remained at 2-2. The reception of Glasgow Rangers, on November 28 at the Allianz Riviera, will be decisive for Nice – 31st in the ranking – who showed character this Thursday, failing to win.
