After the league drubbing against Brest last weekend (4-1), Franck Haise's Nice had the task of turning around the fortunes of a season that did not start out great in their Europa League 2025/26 debut match.
The first European game of the season was played last night at the Allianz Riviera in Nice, so the French team could count on the advantage of playing at home, where, this season, they have almost always won, at least in the league so far.The opponent was not an easy one, in fact AS Roma is not only a club with great experience in this competition, but Gasperini's team arrived at the Allianz Riviera with the boost of confidence given by the derby victory against Lazio last Sunday.
On paper, Roma had a big advantage both in terms of experience and in terms of the game and quality of individuals, however, Franck Haise's men started the match well, with good positioning on the pitch and the aggressiveness that such a clash required.
In defence, fundamental was the return of Dante whose absence had been noted, and not a little, against Brest. Especially in the first half, Nice's defence proved to be not only up to scratch but in total control in front of the Giallorossi's attack lacking in ideas and energy. On the offensive side, however, the French struggled to keep possession of the ball in the opponent's half of the field consistently, which is why the first half, in which we saw more of Nice than Roma, ended 0-0.
In the second half, Roma showed another face, probably the one everyone expected from the start, managing to impose itself on Nice mainly thanks to the technical qualities of individuals.
The first part of the second half was tight; among the Rossoneri only Boga managed to make the difference, not helped by one of the new recruits, Kevin Carlos. Boudaoui showed himself off with a shot, repelled, in the 48th minute.
Roma returned to the pitch after the break in a different gear, and the Giallorossi's pressure led Nice to a fatal individual error, that of Yehvann Diouf, guilty of a botched clearance that generated a corner kick in Roma's favour. Pellegrini found the head of Ndicka to open the scoring (0-1, 52′). Roma needed just two minutes and fifty seconds to double their lead and secure victory.
Tsimikas slotted in on the left and served central defender Mancini with a perfect cross turned into the net with his right (0-2, 55′).
Nice took the blow, Franck Haise sent in new forces, Clauss, Diop and Moffi, and pushed by a phenomenal crowd, managed to rekindle the spark.With about a quarter of an hour to go, Antoine Mendy managed to score a penalty, making the home crowd explode and rekindling hope. Terem Moffi converted it (1-2, 77′), and the games were reopened.
Despite a hunger for points and a pressing with the last remaining strength by Nice, Roma managed to hold on to the result and took home their first Europa League victory of the season.
