Ross Barkley is named the top 'FLOP' - and handed a 3/10 rating - by L'Equipe on full debut for Nice

Ross Barkley endured a nightmare debut for French side OGC Nice after being labelled the top 'FLOP' of their match against PSG.

The 28-year-old was given his first chance in the side's starting eleven since completing a move to Ligue 1 this summer, having been made a free agent by Chelsea.

But things did not go to plan for the former England international who was slated, along with former Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, for his underwhelming performance by French outlet L'Equipe.

In the game, PSG took the lead with a curling free-kick from Lionel Messi before Gaetan Laborde equalised for the visitors. Kylian Mbappe secured all three points late for the Parisians with a well-taken finish in the 83rd minute.

In their scathing review of the match, L'Equipe wrote about Barkley: 'Starting for the first time, the Englishman never managed to be useful and his most remarkable moment was the loss of the ball which allowed Messi to force Dante into a foul that brought the first goal. Replaced by Pepe, without influence.'

The former Everton and Chelsea midfielder was hooked off the pitch in the 62nd minute by Lucien Favre and was later labelled the top 'FLOP' of the match.

He received a brutal rating of 3/10, the lowest of any player. Schmeichel followed closely behind with a meagre 4/10 rating.

About the former Foxes goalkeeper, L'Equipe wrote: 'He remained frozen on the free kick from Messi, but it was difficult to do something. He slammed the Argentine's shot, sprang past Nuno Mendes but was still powerless against Mbappe and this time it was possible to do better.'

The news outlet suggest the Dane could've done better when Mbappe pounced on a pass from Nordi Mukiele to score with a low strike in the 83rd minute.

It was Schmeichel's seventh performance for the French side since making the switch from Leicester this summer.

Along with the signings of Barkley and Schmeichel, Nice also brought in Aaron Ramsey and Nicolas Pepe this summer, with the latter joining on loan from Arsenal.

Both players featured in the match yesterday but were unable to prevent the visitors from being beaten 2-1.

A product of Everton's academy, Barkley was extremely highly rated as a youngster and made 179 appearances for the Toffees, scoring 27 goals.

A move to Chelsea followed in 2018 but Barkley struggled to hold down a regular starting berth for the Blues before joining Nice in 2022.