UEL Recap: Nice beaten by Roma
OGC Nice suffered their third straight defeat in European competition as they lost at home in their Europa League opener to AS Roma, 2-1.
A battling first half
After picking up just three points in last year's league phase, and a humbling elimination at the hands of Benfica in Champions League qualifiers, Franck Haise's OGC Nice were looking to right the ship this evening at the Allianz Riviera. To do so, Haise lined up his team in a strong eleven, with Morgan Sanson, making his first start of the season, deployed in an advanced role.
From the off, Roma had the upper hand, but Nice grew into the match, especially behind the play of Dante. The veteran defender, who became the oldest outfield player in the competition's history, was impressing with his composed play and range of passing, and he stood out as he sought to spring the pacy Jérémie Boga on the counter. A few minutes before the break, Roma's dominance paid off and had the ball in the net through Gianluca Mancini, but the offside flagged bailed out Les Aiglons and the match entered the break scoreless.
0-0 at the break. The same determination required for the second half. 👊#ogcnasr l #uel pic.twitter.com/DOIn970OUe
— OGC Nice 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@ogcnice_eng) September 24, 2025
Roma with a rapid-fire double
After the interval, Roma continued control of the match, and they would open the scoring on 52 minutes, with former Auxerre defender Evan Ndicka heading home a corner at the near post. Moments later, the lead was doubled through Mancini, with former Lens midfielder Neil El-Aynaoui starting the play with a ball out wide to the left, and the defender met the cross with a powerful volley to make it 2-0.
Nice would battle hard to get back into the match, with Haise making a triple change just after the hour, bringing on Sofiane Diop, Terem Moffi and Jonathan Clauss. The character of the match changed in the favor of the hosts, and Moffi would find the net from the penalty spot, but despite their pushing hard for an equalizer, it was not to be, and they'll hope to rebound with a trip to Fenerbahce in a week's time with a home match against a dangerous Paris FC in Ligue 1 McDonald's in the interim.
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