OGC Nice began their Conference League group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw against Cologne at the Allianz Riviera on Thursday.

The match started late due to pre-match incidents, but the 22 players put on a good show in the early stages of the competition.

With Bulka in goal, Boudaoui on the right of midfield and Bryan and Diop on the left, the team were ready to take on the European challenge. For this first game in group D of the Europa Conference League, Lucien Favre's players set the pace and showed their strengths. Against the current sixth-placed team in the Bundesliga, this entertaining Nice side started off strong without putting Schwabe, the Cologne goalkeeper, under too much pressure. Only Gaëtan Laborde had a real chance at the beginning of the game, but his shot was pushed away by the German keeper (17').

After a nice start, the Gym suffered for 20 minutes against the Germans' attacking style, carried by the Thielmann - Tigges duo up front. The former was proving dangerous, thanks to his speed and intelligent movement, as shown by the pass he received from deep (9') and his header in the box (13'). Although he didn't find the net, the pressure on Nice's backline was intense, and they nearly conceded when Ljubicic's shot from 35 metres out hit the post (18'). A few moments later though, Tigges took advantage of an excellent cross from the inevitable Thielmann to open the scoring (0-1, 19'). 

The Gym were shaken up just after the first goal of the match, before stepping up the pressure and becoming more and more dominant. The first chance came from Sofiane Diop, who fed Alexis Beka Beka to set up Gaëtan Laborde (23'). The former Rennes man, who was excellent for 93 minutes, found Andy Delort in the box with the outside of his foot. But his fellow striker was unable to beat Schwabe despite a good opportunity (36').

It takes courage and character to perform in Europe. With Ramsey, Atal (unavailable), Lemina (knee injury) and Barkley (ineligible) all out of action, the Gym showed a lot of fight. In the second half, they put a lot of pressure on their visitors, thanks to the duo of Delort and Laborde. Pushed on by the Nice fans, Thuram and his partners did everything they could to equalise. They created a host of chances. Delort, with a header, then Laborde, following a corner played quickly by two players, had two very good chances in less than 20 seconds (54'). With Alexis Beka Beka looking very impressive breaking forward, Laborde won a free-kick on the edge of the area. His shot was blocked by Hübers' hand. The penalty was converted by Delort down the middle (1-1, 62').

This goal freed up the Gym, who then produced a high quality half of football. They conceded few chances - only Maina worried Bulka (64') - and continued to make inroads. Laborde (63'), Delort (74') and Pepe (77') hit the bar, the goalkeeper's hand and the defender's back respectively to deprive them of a more than deserved lead, with how Lucien Favre's men had played with such desire and intensity and how much they had dominated. In the wake of a fine performance, Gaëtan Laborde came close to being rewarded (84', 86'). But Marvin Schwäbe, the German goalkeeper, managed to bring back a point for his team.

OGC Nice started their Europa Conference League group stage with a 1-1 draw against Cologne. After a trip to Ajaccio on Sunday in matchday 7 of Ligue 1, they will travel to Partizan Belgrade on 15 September. The Serbians also finished with a 3-3 draw at FC Slovacko.