Losing in the Champions League qualifiers, Balotelli's team had to go down to the Europa League

Nice lost 0-2 to Napoli in the second leg of their final qualifying round tie and 0-4 on aggregate.

Second leg goals: Callejon 48', Insigne 89'

Like the first leg last week, Napoli had plenty of scoring opportunities. The difference in experience and player quality meant Nice were playing "underdogs" even with home advantage.

Striker Jose Callejon opened the scoring in the second leg with a simple tap-in from Marek Hamsik's left-wing cross in the 48th minute. Also from another left-wing cross, Napoli closed the contest with a curling goal from Lorenzo Insigne.

Napoli (blue shirt) beat Nice in both matches. Photo: Reuters

Striker Mario Balotelli started but could not help Nice much. Helpless in front of Napoli's goal, the Italian star had to leave the field in the 77th minute to make way for Ganago.

Similar to Balotelli, Sneijder also could not turn the situation around for the French team. The midfielder, who had just transferred from Galatasaray, alone could not fill the gap in experience created by his teammates.

Napoli advanced to the Champions League group stage with a 4-0 aggregate win. Nice, on the other hand, were relegated to the Europa League group stage.

Some other results in the Champions League qualifiers on the evening of August 22:

Astana 4-3 Celtic (4-8 aggregate)
Maribor 1-0 Hapoel (2-2, Maribor win on away goals rule)
Rijeka 0-1 Olympiacos (1-3)
Sevilla 2-2 Istanbul Basaksehir (4-3)

According to VNE