Leverkusen (Germany) (AFP)

A calamitous first half hour, and a gross error of defense when they had returned to the match: the Nice, beaten 6-2, paid dearly for their European inexperience Thursday in Leverkusen, where they collapsed at the end of match for their first in the Europa League.

The defeat leaves Nice at zero points in a group that is however affordable, with Israel Cup winner Hapoel Beer-Sheva with modest ambitions and Czech Republic champions Slavia Prague.

Archi-domineering at the start, Bayer, quarter-finalist of the last edition of the event, scored quickly by Nadiem Amiri (11th) and Lucas Alario (16th).

But Amine Gouiri, Nice's top scorer in L1 with three goals, scored the goal of hope in the 31st minute (2-1).

Back in the game, OGC Nice cracked after the break on a huge defensive error in the second period, before exploding late in the game by conceding three goals in the last 11 minutes.

In the total closed door of the BayeArena, the Aiglons entered the game very badly.

After 16 minutes of play, Leverkusen was already leading 2-0: the fifth in Ligue 1 seemed to have totally forgotten the instructions of their coach Patrick Vieira: "We must try to impose our game, have possession of the ball, go and get them to cause them problems and recover the ball as high as possible, "the 1998 world champion asked his players.

- A shot to play -

From the 11th minute, the young Jamaican talent Leon Bayley opened superbly in the back of the defense for Nadiem Amiri, who mystified Dante and opened the scoring with an unstoppable cross shot (1-0).

Five minutes later, Lucas Alario placed a mule strike in a very narrow angle, and the unfortunate Benitez saw the ball pass over his arms (2-0, 16th).

At 2-0, Leverkusen had the opportunity to immediately kill the match, again by Bailey on a long shot, but this time Benitez made the decisive save to keep his team in the match (17th).

Nice suffered again, until the goal.

Nkosi won a duel at the center line, overwhelmed on the left wing and perfectly served Gouiri, at the edge of the area.

The young scorer erased his defender to open the angle and place a superb shot (2-1, 31st).

This goal momentarily changed the face of the game.

Nice was suddenly more aggressive, more precise in his passes and thought, no doubt, that there was a blow to play against these Germans, currently 9th in the Bundesliga, admittedly rough but not impregnable.

- Nice explodes -

Just before the break, Camara even offered an opportunity to equalize, after a one-two with Dante in the box, but his ball crashed into the side net.

Nice let go on a big mistake.

On an innocuous raise, Morgan Schneiderlin did not see Alario arrive behind his back, who stole the ball from him to serve Moussa Diaby, completely alone at the penalty spot.

The international French hope took all his time to adjust Benitez (3-1, 61st).

Leverkusen then unfolded, by three goals in less than ten minutes, by Karim Bellarabi (4-1, 79th and 5-1, 83rd) and Florian Wirtz (87th).

The second goal of Alexis Claude-Maurice (90th) is anecdotal.

Nice, with its ambitions sharpened by the arrival of Ineos, will still have to make its classes in Europe before it can dream big.

© 2020 AFP