UEL Recap: Castellanos’ Brace Helps Lazio Sink Nice

OGC Nice will need to turn the page on their UEFA Europa League Matchday 2 performance following a 4-1 loss to Lazio on Thursday night at Stadio Olimpico. After a draw against Real Sociedad on Matchday 1, Franck Haise and his team couldn't secure a positive result on the road.

It was a rainy night in Italy's capital, but the weather didn't stop either side from scoring. Lazio opened the scoring in the 20th minute thanks to a goal from veteran forward Pedro. The away side couldn't recover as 15 minutes later, they conceded another goal in the 35th minute as Valentín Castellanos made the scoreline 2-0 for Lazio.

Toward the end of the first half, Nice did have a bounce-back, cutting the deficit to 2-1 thanks to a goal from Jérémie Boga. The goal should've been a momentum booster for the Ligue 1 club to get back into the match once the second half started, but that wouldn't be the case.

Castellanos recorded his brace in the 53rd minute, which went to a VAR review and was confirmed to be a goal. Conceding a goal early in the final 45 minutes turned out to be what sunk Nice in the matchup.

Lazio would add another insurance goal in the 67th minute courtesy of a goal from Mattia Zaccagni. The matchup ended 4-1 and Nice are in a challenging situation with one point after two matchdays.

Following the win, Lazio manager Marco Baroni stated what made Nice a challenging opponent at his press conference.

"We weren't pressing the ball effectively. Nice is a strong team, and if you don’t apply pressure, it can create problems for you. We needed to focus on moving the ball and raising our pressure, and the team did that well, which helped us secure the win."

On the other side, Haise noted that the weather played a factor, particularly in the second half as he told reporters.

"I won't get into the second half since it was impossible to play. However, in the first half, we did some good things, yet we’re still down 2-1. This shows we need to be more determined."

The French side will need to forget this result and look forward to what's next on their schedule. Nice will host Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday night at Allianz Riviera in their last game before the FIFA international break.

Nice's next Europa League match will be on October 24th when they host Ferencváros, who fell on Thursday 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur.

Photo credit: @ogcnice_eng

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