OGC Nice beat Go Ahead Eagles 3-1 on Thursday evening on Matchday 7 of the Europa League league phase. Tiago Gouveia, who scored twice, and Charles Vanhoutte scored their first goals for the Côte d'Azur club. 

Le Gym have something to smile about again! Five days after suffering a heavy defeat in Toulouse in the league, Claude Puel's men bounced back at the Allianz Riviera for their last Europa League home game of the season. Already eliminated, Les Rouge et Noir respected the European competition despite the absence of any qualifying implications in a match that was by no means lacking interest. With a desire to bounce back and regain confidence, and a need to give playing time to players lacking rhythm, Les Aiglons approached this match perfectly against a Dutch side still in contention for a place in the top 24. In the end, their efforts were rewarded: after 18 difficult matches, OGC Nice returned to winning ways on the continental stage on Thursday 22 January. 

VANHOUTTE AND GOUVEIA, A NIGHT OF FIRSTS

Playing with commitment, solid defensively and aggressive offensively, Charles Vanhoutte and his teammates got off to a good start. Eager to prevent their opponents from controlling possession and launching counterattacks, their efforts were quickly rewarded. Lying in wait in the box, the Belgian international took advantage of good collective pressing to convert Louchet's pull-back following a misplaced clearance by Jari De Busser (1-0, 10'). With a large number of players in the opposition's 16-yard box, the hungry Aiglons could have opened the scoring before that through Kevin Carlos, whose shot across goal after a fine run into space deserved better (5'). 

Although they appeared solid defensively despite the youth of their central defenders, Juma Bah (19) and Brad Mantsounga (18), Nice struggled with set pieces. Hampered by the Dutch side's combinations and height, the Allianz Riviera side had several scares, such as Joris Kramer's shot following Dean James' corner (4') and the central defender's header, alone at the far post, which hit Maxime Dupé's post before Bah saved on the line (30'). 

Just as they were on the verge of cracking, the Rouge et Noir turned the momentum of the match around thanks to the man of the night: Tiago Gouveia. The attacking midfielder took advantage of a poorly cleared cross from Mohamed-Ali Cho to unleash a superb strike from 25 metres out, which flew into the top left corner of De Busser's goal after hitting the inside of the post (2-0, 41').

Like Vanhoutte, the player on loan from Benfica scored for the first time since arriving on the Côte d'Azur. But unlike his Belgian teammate, Gouveia, who was in fine form on Thursday evening, managed to double the lead after the break. Alone on the right wing, Cho delivered a brilliant cross to the head of his Portuguese teammate, who was alert enough to finish from close range (3-0, 59'). Excellent on the left side of Nice's attack, the man of the match put in a fine performance, topped off with numerous recoveries and quick counterattacks.  

BOUDACHE COMES ON, DANTE RETURNS

With the pressure off, Les Aiglons could have added to their tally in a controlled second half, but Kevin Carlos hit the bar (50') and was then denied by the opposition goalkeeper (78'). Despite Finn Stokkers reducing the deficit (3-1, 68'), Puel's troops did not panic and, although they were occasionally in danger, they were kept safe thanks to Maxime Dupé's saves. The Côte d'Azur coach took the opportunity to bring on another young player from the Côte d'Azur academy, Kaïl Boudache, who made the most of his first professional minutes. The talented 19-year-old attacking midfielder came on alongside Dante, who was back in action for the first time since the match in Porto on 27 November. 

With this first win under their new coach, Nice are now 33rd in the Europa League standings. Now it's time to look ahead to a big away game in Nantes this Sunday, 25 January, in the league (3pm).