OGC Nice suffered defeat at the hands of Freiburg on Thursday on Matchday 4 of the league phase of the Europa League (1-3). Kevin Carlos scored the only goal for the Niçois.

Another frustrating evening for Le Gym in the Europa League. Facing German side Freiburg, Franck Haise's men were defeated 3-1 and are still without a win this season in Europe. Playing in their traditional 3-4-3 formation, with Salis Abdul Samed, Charles Vanhoutte, Sofiane Diop, Kevin Carlos and Jeremie Boga returning to the starting line-up, the Aiglons started the match well, matching the visitors who were comfortable in possession but troubled by the Côte d'Azur side's transitions.

KEVIN CARLOS SCORES

It was in this type of situation, following a high recovery, that the Allianz Riviera side created their first chance of the match, but Vanhoutte's left-footed shot from the edge of the box did not trouble Noah Atubolu, the opposing goalkeeper (23'). But moments later, Atubolu was beaten by Kevin Carlos. The Nice striker finished off a fine team move, started by Diop and assisted by Vanhoutte, leaving the opposition goalkeeper with no chance with a perfectly placed shot into the top corner (1-0, 25').

The joy of his second goal of the season, and his second in the Europa League, unfortunately did not last long for the man from Ceuta. Thanks to some high pressing, Yuito Suzuki stole the ball from Melvin Bard before setting up Johan Manzambi, who took the chance to equalise immediately (1-1, 29').

A first blow was quickly followed by a second. Although Yéhvann Diouf was solid in keeping out consecutive attempts from Vincenzo Grifo and Derry Scherhant (36'), the goalkeeper was powerless to stop the perfectly taken penalty by Freiburg's Italian captain, awarded after a foul by Bard on Suzuki (1-2, 39') The visitors then managed to add a third just before half-time, thanks to Scherhant's fine strike from the edge of the box after a three-man move (1-3, 42').

Despite the difficult first half, the Aiglons tried everything to turn the tide in the second period, but nothing went their way. There were numerous attempts on Atubolu's goal, but Lukas Kübler tackled Jeremie Boga (62') before Tiago Gouveia's cross was blocked by the crossbar and Abdul Samed saw his shot from close range fly over the bar (63').

Despite having more shots than their opponents on the night (14 to 12), the Rouge et Noir were unable to find the back of the net, despite a one-on-one between Mohamed-Ali Cho and Atubolu, which was won by the German goalkeeper (90+2).

Hicham Boudaoui and his teammates still have four games left to try to redeem themselves in the Europa League. Before that, they will need to get back on track in the league when they travel to Metz on Sunday 9 November at 5.15pm.

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Hugo Rondet