UEL Recap: Nice Suffer Heartbreaking Loss to Union Saint-Gilloise

OGC Nice's chance to advance to the next phase of the UEFA Europa League took a significant hit on Thursday after their heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Royale Union Saint-Gilloise at Stade Roi Baudouin.

It was a scoreless affair between the two sides midway through the first half, but in the 33rd minute, it was the home side who took a 1-0 lead. Franjo Ivanović scored on a left-footed shot from very close range to the center of the goal to give the home side the advantage.

Nice responded right before halftime as Sofiane Diop connected with Evann Guessand to level the scoring 1-1 in the first half stoppage time off a left-footed shot from close range..

The second half saw Union Saint-Gilloise be the dominant side, recording 12 total shots while Nice only recorded six total shots. Despite the difference in total shots, the contest stayed 1-1 for most of the second half, but in the second half stoppage time, Franck Haise and his team had their hearts broken.

Ivanović struck again in the second half stoppage time to score the late game-winning goal off a left-footed shot from the center of the box to the top left corner to give Union Saint-Gilloise the 2-1 win and all three points.

Les Aiglons are in second-to-last place in the Europa League's league phase table as they sit in 35th place with two points and only two matchdays left.

After the match, Diop spoke with the media and shared his thoughts on the heartbreaking result for Le Gym.

"It’s been looming over us for a while now. They had a lot of chances. We didn’t have many, but we did have one big one. We fell short. It’s frustrating because we came here to win, no doubt about it. We put everything else aside. We’re not going to blame the pitch or injuries. We only had one goal—victory—and we failed, plain and simple."

"It was a tough match, yeah. I don’t know if it’s right to say we gave it everything, but I think we did. We just couldn’t adapt to their style of play. We weren’t there for the second balls. They created a lot of chances, and we were under pressure. [Marcin Bułka] saved us a few times. In the end, what hurts the most is conceding a goal in the way we did. Sometimes, you just have to know how to avoid losing when you can’t win."

The Stat: Nice's struggles in Europa League this season

OGC Nice has only accumulated two points after their first six matches in the Europa League, marking the lowest total for a French club at this stage in the competition since Olympique Marseille in the 2018-19 season (one point).

Photo credit: @ogcnice

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