OGK Nice, with Romanian Rares Ilie in the starting line-up, lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 in the first match of the Conference League playoffs. FC Köln, Slavia Praha, FC Basel or Young Boys Bern also lost at this stage of the competition.

UEFA conference leaguePhoto: Ozan KOSE / AFP / Profimedia

Rares Ilie received a yellow card in the 51st minute and was substituted in the 64th minute with the score tied at 0-0.

French fans appreciated the Romanian midfielder’s evolution and praised him on social networks: “Rares Ilieu is really great”, “Oooh, the combinations between Ilieu and Delort…” or “Where did this Ilieu come from?” these are just some of the comments.

Also on Thursday, “Fegervar” unexpectedly won on the field of “Cologne” with a score of 2:1. Midfielder Claudiu Bumba was a reserve member of the Hungarian national team.

“Rakov” beat Slavia Prague at home with a score of 2:1. Bohdan Rakovichan was a reserve in the Polish national team, and Dejan Sorescu was not in the team.

Conference League, first leg of the playoffs

Rakov Czestochowa (Poland) – Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) 2-1

FC RFS (Latvia) vs Linfield Belfast (Northern Ireland) 2-2

CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) – FC Basel (Switzerland) 1-0

Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) – OGC Nice (France) 1-0

Young Boys Bern (Switzerland) – Anderlecht Brussels (Belgium) 0-1

1. FC Slovakia (Czech Republic) – AIK Solna (Sweden) 3-0

“Molde” (Norway) – “Wolfsberger” (Austria) 0-1

CS Universitatea Craiova (Romania) – Hapoel Be’er Sheva (Israel) 1-1

Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey) – Royal Antwerp (Belgium) 1-1

NK Zrinjski Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) – Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) 1-0

FC Vaduz (Liechtenstein) – Rapid Wien (Austria) 1-1

NK Maribor (Slovenia) – CFR Cluj (Romania) 0-0

Lech Poznań (Poland) – F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg) 2-0

FCSB (Romania) vs. Viking Stavanger (Norway) 1-2

FC Cologne (Germany) – Fegervar Székesfegervar (Hungary) 1-2

Villarreal (Spain) – Hajduk Split (Croatia) 4-2

West Ham United (England) – Viborg FF (Denmark) 3-1

FC Shkupi (North Macedonia) vs Ballkani (Kosovo) 1-2

Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) vs Hamrun Spartans (Malta) 4-1

Fiorentina (Italy) – Twente Enschede (Netherlands) 2-1

AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) – Gil Vicente (Portugal) 4-0.

The return matches will take place on Tuesday, August 23 and Thursday, August 25.