OGC Nice suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Portuguese outfit Benfica on Wednesday in their third-round preliminary qualifier for the UEFA Champions League.

Benfica, lived up to their billing as a traditional giant of the continental game to overcome Le Gym and the superb atmosphere inside Allianz Riviera on Wednesday night. The sell-out crowd for the first competitive outing of the 2025/26 campaign cheered on their side from the first to the final minute of the game.

Despite not starting favourites against the European powerhouse, Les Aiglons brought all the energy of their supporters onto the pitch in a fiercely contested and even opening 45 minutes. Playing in a 3-4-3 formation, with three summer signings in the starting XI (Yehvann Diouf, Juma Bah and Isak Jansson), Les Rouge et Noir showed great resistance in the face of their technical opponents, even if Andreas Schjelderup failed to take full advantage of the first chance of the game (6’). 

Franck Haise’s men were also dangerous from set pieces, via Melvin Bard4s shot off target (10’), and on the counter, when Terem Moffi failed to make the most of a presentable chance (16’). 

TWO BIG CHANCES

Encouraged by their captain Dante, who made several trademark defensive interventions, the home side couldn’t find the finishing touches to several well-constructed moves. At the other end, Diouf produced two big saves to keep his side in the game from Richard Rios’ free-kick (16’), and Vangélis Pavlidis’ deflected effort (39’).  

Nice’s two best chances of the game came shortly after. Firstly, Moffi’s left-footed effort flew into the outside netting of Trubin’s goal (40’). And the Nigerian forward, making his first start in nearly 15 months, then set up Jonathan Clauss early in the second period, only for the France international to scuff his shot (50’). 

A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB

In the end, it was against the run of play that Les Aiglons were caught out, a reminder of just how demanding the UEFA Champions League really is. From a Fredrik Aursnes cross, Franjo Ivanovic steered the ball home with a controlled lunging finish (0-1, 53e). The Croatia international, who scored against OGC Nice last season in the UEFA Europa League with Union Saint-Gilloise, then went close ten minutes later, only to be denied by a smart save from Le Gym’s ‘keeper (62’). 

Despite the best efforts of the Nice players and their supporters to get back on level terms, Benfica made the game safe in the final seconds through Florentino’s powerful and precise shot from 25 metres out (0-2, 88’). 

Les Rouge et Noir now head to the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon next week needing to claw back the two goal deficit. It’s a big challenge for Le Gym, but the legend of the Champions League has been written with similar stories of comebacks and upsets. Don’t miss it - next Tuesday, 12 August at 21:00 CET.

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