Travelling to Ferencvaros for their third Europa League match of the season, OGC Nice lost 1-0 on Hungarian soil.

A difficult trip and a cruel match. Faced with Ferencvaros on their third European outing of the season, Franck Haise's team were surprised by a Hungarian side looking to redeem themselves in front of their home fans after their two opening defeats in the Europa League. Also desperate to pick up points after their 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad and 4-1 defeat at Lazio Rome, Le Gym travelled to the eastern part of the continent with their traditional attacking ambitions, reflected in the reappearance of the attack that had sparked the comeback in Nantes last weekend: Sofiane Diop, Gaëtan Laborde and Evann Guessand.

Pablo Rosario and Co had to contend with a side that is no stranger to European action, and they bore the brunt of the home side's early intensity. First they were shaken by Adama Traoré's tricky cross-shot, which was well saved by Marcin Bulka (8'), and then they were made to sweat when Kady Borges tried his luck from the edge of the area, with his curling shot going just wide (10').

UNHAPPY AIGLONS

Starting for the first time this season, Sofiane Diop tried to get his team-mates going again, but his instantaneous right-footed effort from Jonathan Clauss's low cross found no better fate than the gloves of Dénes Dibusz, the experienced Ferencvaros goalkeeper (13'). Just as they were gradually getting their heads above water, however, Le Gym suffered the cruel fate of European football when they conceded the opening goal in the middle of the opening period. It was an unfortunate one, as Moïse Bombito inadvertently deflected Ibrahim Cissé's header into his own net following a free-kick from the left for the Hungarian side. Caught off guard by the trajectory of the ball, Bulka was unable to save (1-0, 15').

The Rouge et Noir were not only unfortunate in front of goal, but also in their duels, such as when Diop and Rosario collided following a push from Barnabas Varga (19'). The attacking midfielder, who appeared to have suffered a bruised eyebrow, did his utmost to get back into the game, having had his head strapped by the medical staff. He could even have provided an assist towards the end of the first half, but his first-time cross to Clauss came to nothing as the Nice full-backwas unable to get it past Dibusz with his outstretched effort (42').

Ferencvaros, for their part, looked dangerous in transition, helped by the way the game was going. Mohammad Abu Fani went close to scoring in first-half stoppage time after a supersonic counterattack, but Bulka's reflex save kept Le Gym alive (45+3). A few moments earlier, the last Polish 'keeper denied Kady Borges, who hit a lovely, curling free kick from 20 metres out (40').

DOMINANCE GOES UNREWARDED

Armed with better intentions, Evann Guessand and his partners attacked the second half with more vigour, as shown by the impact of their Ivorian striker, who was thwarted at the last minute by Ibrahim Cissé as his shot was heading towards goal (46'). The Côte d'Azur side were dominating the game and rediscovered their philosophy, carried by several duels won high up the pitch. But time and again, Nice's waves came up against the iron defence of the Hungarian side, who were always quick to stick in a head or a leg to keep the danger at bay.

Franck Haise's side, who were suffering more and more physically as the minutes went by, struggled to cope with the speed of their opponents' counterattacks. Traoré's shot was parried by Bulka (61'), Abdelmonem's effort saved on the line (63'), and a low cross from the tireless Traoré was almost turned into the net by Varga (70’) ... Hopes of a draw were dashed when Pablo Rosario, the last defender, was faced with Matheus Saldanha, coming in with a late tackle, he was shown a red card in the 84th minute.

Beaten in Hungary, Le Gym are currently 32nd in the Europa League table and will have to resume their progress against Twente at the Allianz Riviera on 7th November. Before that, however, the Nice squad face a major challenge, with a derby at home to Monaco on Sunday (5pm).