Last French representative in the European Cup, OGC Nice failed, Thursday, April 20, losing (1-2) after extra time against the Swiss FC Basel in the quarter-finals of the Europa League Conference. And the southern club can harbor regrets.
Authors of an encouraging draw in the first leg (2-2), the Niçois nevertheless held their qualification for a long time thanks to an early goal from Gaëtan Laborde (9e, 1-0). But Didier Digard’s men cracked at the end of the game, first conceding the equalizer four minutes from the end of regulation time by the Frenchman Jean-Kévin Augustin (86e1-1), then a second goal synonymous with elimination during extra time by Kasim Adams Nuhu (98e, 1-2). Between the first leg and the second leg, the Niçois led twice before letting their opponents come back.
In a difficult context since the revelations of the Galtier affair, his former coach today on the PSG bench, OGC Nice hoped to offer one of the greatest exploits in its history. In a full stadium (without the Swiss supporters banned from traveling by the French authorities), the Nice players missed their first qualification in the semi-finals of a European Cup by nothing. They can only blame themselves as they seemed superior to Basel.
Bad deal for the UEFA index of French clubs
They may also regret the contentious decision of the video arbitration at the 58e, after an unsanctioned contact in the middle of the surface on striker Terem Moffi. OGC Nice also lacked success on two occasions: an acrobatic recovery from Laborde which narrowly missed the goal of Swiss goalkeeper Marwin Hitz (64e), and, during extra time, Billal Brahimi’s free kick which hit the top of the crossbar (108e).
The Niçois certainly have other concerns after this disappointment but their elimination in the quarter-finals of the Ligue Europe Conférence – the third European Cup in the hierarchy – is not a good deal for the UEFA index of French clubs.
Under threat from Dutch clubs for the 5e place, which will allow three clubs to qualify directly for the Champions League in one season, France can nevertheless rejoice in the result of AS Roma, which eliminated the Dutch from Feyenoord in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. On the other hand, AZ Alkmaar qualified for the semi-finals of the Europa League Conference by eliminating Anderlecht.