Nantes edge Wisla Plock on final-second penalty

Nantes began their Champions League campaign with a home victory after Noam Leopold converted a seven-metre throw on the final action against Wisla Plock. The narrow success gives Grégory Cojean’s team a winning start in Europe, despite a match in which the Polish visitors repeatedly threatened to take control.

Wisla made the stronger opening, moving 5-0 ahead as Nantes struggled to score during the first eight minutes. Ian Tarrafeta then drove the response with nine goals from 10 attempts, helping Nantes move in front before the interval. The teams went into the break level after Melvyn Richardson scored from the seven-metre line, and Nicolas Tournat later contributed to a 3-0 run that restored a two- to three-goal advantage for the hosts.

Wisla refused to break. Dawid Dawydzik scored seven times from seven shots and levelled the contest with just over five minutes remaining, while Sergei Kosorotov helped the visitors recover after Oriol Rey Morales was sent off following three two-minute suspensions. The closing stages remained even until Gergo Fazekas committed the foul that gave Nantes their decisive chance. Leopold had already missed once from seven metres, but made no mistake when the result rested on his attempt. Nantes won 26-25.