Gabri Veiga struck twice in the first half to inspire Porto to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nice, handing the French side their fifth straight loss in this season’s UEFA Europa League.
Nice, already low on confidence after four consecutive defeats in all competitions, suffered a nightmare start.
Within just 19 seconds, Porto sliced through their defence as Pepe pulled the ball back for Veiga, whose low drive,q slightly redirected off the unfortunate Dante, beat Yehvann Diouf.
Despite the early setback, Nice tried to respond. Terem Moffi broke free in the 19th minute but wasted the opportunity, leaning back and firing over the bar.
Veiga showed no such hesitation moments later. Twelve minutes before the interval, Victor Froholdt fed him a precise pass across the box, and the Spaniard steadied himself before rifling a brilliant finish into the top corner.
Veiga, who began the night with just one goal all season, had suddenly tripled his tally in barely half an hour.
Dante’s troubles continued after the restart. A VAR review confirmed he had fouled Samu inside the box, and the forward confidently converted the resulting penalty, sending Diouf the wrong way for his 10th goal of the campaign and putting the result beyond doubt.
Nice could not muster a meaningful response, with Kevin Carlos and Jonathan Clauss both skying chances in quick succession.
Porto’s win extends their unbeaten home run to eight matches (W7) and lifts them to 10 points in the Europa League, strengthening their push for the knockout rounds.
Nice, meanwhile, remain rooted to the bottom without a single point and have now gone 15 main-stage European matches without a victory (D4)—a new, unwanted record for any French club.aqwq
