Nice lose to Cagliari on penalties in friendly

Nice were unable to find a rhythm throughout the 90 minutes of Saturday's friendly against Cagliari. According to L'Équipe, the Aiglons displayed a lethargic performance that left them relying on a penalty shootout, which they ultimately lost 0-0 in regular time and 2-4 on spot kicks.

Apathy dominated the match in which, paradoxically, it was the Italians who created the most danger. A defensive intervention by Nice's Youssouf Ndayishimiye on Yael Trepy in the 62nd minute and a sharp save by Yéhvann Diouf prevented further trouble.

Olivier Pantaloni was able to field new signing Gauthier Hein from the start, having arrived four days earlier. Young players Hamza Koutoune (19) and Nassim Laarej (17) both missed their penalty attempts. This setback comes a week after another friendly defeat to Juventus (0-2), though Nice had begun their preparations well with victories over Nîmes (4-0) and Olympique de Marseille (3-0).