FC Porto whipped up an expected 3:0 scoreline against Nice, condemning the visitors to yet another defeat raising their tally to five defeats out of five in the UEFA Europa League this season. The last thing a side like Nice needed was to concede an early goal which they did when Porto broke off from kickoff and Pepé cut the ball back for Veiga who finished clinically with a low effort past Yehvann Diouf 19 seconds into the game. Dante’s night starting following his return was marred by disappointment as Veiga’s shot was nicked past Diouf by him.
Notwithstanding, Nice were unrelenting and came close to evening the score when Terem Moffi raced clear but unfortunately rushed his shot over the crossbar in the 19th minute.
With just 12 minutes to half time left, Veiga showed his worth by doubling the lead for his side as he took a pass from Victor Froholdt in his stride, composed himself and fired into the top right corner of the post.
Dante’s woes grew after halftime as he was adjudicated to have fouled Samu in the spear after a VAR check. Samu then converted from the spot after sending Diouf the wrong way, his 10th goal this season. The saw a series of back and forth in which both sides came close to scoring but were unfortunate as the score line remained 3-0 at the Fulltime whistle.
Implications
This victory raises Porto’s unbeaten home record to eight games with seven of the ending in wins this season. The win moves them to 10 points, drawing them closer to qualifying for the next round of the UEL.
Nice, however, remains without a point and have gone 15 main draw European games without a win – a new record for the worst run by a French side.
Upcoming fixtures
FC Porto:
Porto vs Estoril – 30 November, 21:30 (Liga Portugal)
Porto vs Vitoria Guimaraes – 4 December, 21:15 (League Cup)
OGC Nice:
Lorient vs Nice – 30 November, 17:15 (Ligue 1)
Nice vs Angers – 7 December, 15:00 (Ligue 1)
