Europa League Recap: Nice, Real Sociedad Play to 1-1 Draw

After scoring eight goals, six of which came in the first half, in their last contest, OGC Nice were held to one goal in their 1-1 draw against La Liga side Real Sociedad on Wednesday night at Allianz Riviera.

Nice kicked off their UEFA Europa League campaign against Real Sociedad, who has already faced one French club in a European competition this calendar year. In the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, the Spanish side clashed with Paris Saint-Germain, falling to the capital club.

The White and Blues looked to turn around their current 2024-25 season with a positive result against the Ligue 1 club as they're off to a slow start, winning one match in seven games played.

Both sides had five total shots in the first half, but Real Sociedad opened the scoring with a goal from Ander Barrenetxea in the 18th minute. Despite conceding the first goal of the match, Franck Haise and his team responded.

In the 45th minute, Pablo Rosario leveled the scoring just as the two squads were about to head into halftime. The home side recorded five shots in total in the second half and had an opportunity to take the lead.

Nice was awarded a penalty kick opportunity after a VAR review in the 52nd minute. Evann Guessand stepped into the box with a chance to give Les Aiglons the lead, but the 23-year-old missed the shot as Álex Remiro made the save. The contest would end 1-1 as both teams walked away with one point.

After the match, Haise spoke to the media and noted that while he was happy with the performance, the team is frustrated because they let a win slip through their hands.

"Given how the match played out, even though I'm pleased with the team's overall performance, it feels like a frustrating draw. It's that we didn't win a match we should have. We created chances, played well, pressed hard almost the entire game, and won a lot of balls in high positions. Sometimes, we're really effective, and other times, we're not as much; that’s just football. We need to keep working on that. But when it comes to the performance itself, I have no complaints."

On Matchday 2, Nice will head to Italy to face Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. As for Real Sociedad, they will host R.S.C. Anderlecht, who won on Matchday 1 with a 2-1 victory over Ferencváros.

Photo credit: @ogcnice

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