Charles Vanhoutte opened the scoring during the meeting between OGC Nice and the Go Ahead Eagles this Thursday evening in the Europa League. The Aiglons also won their first three points in the competition, for the honor.
Charles Vanhoutte and OGC Nice experienced a more than complicated Europa League campaign. Initially qualified for the Champions League play-offs – lost to Benfica – the Aiglons did not win a single point in the first six matches, conceding defeats against AS Roma, Fenerbahçe, Celta Vigo, Fribourg, FC Porto and Braga.
Already eliminated from the competition, Nice, fifteenth in Ligue 1 with four points ahead of the red zone, however had the opportunity to save the honor this Thursday evening against the Go Ahead Eagles.
Claude Puel’s troops won with a score of 3 goals to 1, with an opener from Charles Vanhoutte, scorer of his very first goal since his arrival in Nice last September, for an amount of six million euros.
First goal… and first victory in Europe for Charles Vanhoutte in Nice
An important moment for Vanhoutte, who took advantage of good collective pressing and an error from the Dutch defense to find the net and launch the Aiglons towards their first European victory in… five years and 19 matches.
Frequently a starter with the Niçois, Charles Vanhoutte has found his place in a top 5 European championship, but is nevertheless experiencing a delicate season, marked by a catastrophic European campaign and a complicated exercise in Ligue 1.
Let’s hope that this goal can serve as a trigger for him, he who had been selected in September, October and November for the Red Devils by Rudi Garcia, and who had played six minutes against Kazakhstan – his only appearance for the national team to date.
🇪🇺⚽️ | (#UEL) Charles Vanhoutte 🇧🇪 (goal) vs Go Ahead Eaglespic.twitter.com/NzSupICuK7
— Belgian Players 🇧🇪 (@BelgianPlayers) January 22, 2026
