African players are off to a flying start in Ligue 1 for the 2023-2024 season. For the matches played on Sunday August 13, Mohamed Mostafa, Zakaria Aboukhlal and Youssef Maaziz all scored, with varying fortunes in terms of final results. The strongest performance came from Montpellier's new striker Akor Adams, who scored twice on his official debut. A good start for the Africans overall, with the day's summit match between Strasbourg and Lyon still to be played.
Akor Adams gets off to a flying start in Ligue 1
For a while, Akor Adams was the talk of the transfer market. Fans can understand why, with several clubs snapping him up. He scored twice in his first Ligue 1 match, earning Montpellier a point (2-2) against Le Havre. He first equalized for his team (58th min) before giving them the lead 2 minutes later. Unfortunately, Montpellier were pegged back in the 90th minute. The player is already showing his potential for those who were tempted to underestimate his performances in the Norwegian league with Lillestrom, where he scored 17 goals in 18 games played last season.
The 23-year-old showed how well he could read the game, with the quality of his ball handling, his speed and his heading ability. Almost the total package. As a result, many are already saying that the Nigerian is one of the players to watch this season.
L'état d'esprit affiché par le Nigérian Akor Adams (23 ans) depuis son arrivée laisse espérer à Montpellier qu'il a déniché un buteur de talent. Le doublé inscrit en ouverture contre Le Havre (2-2) confirme qu'il s'est déjà adapté. https://t.co/KvpeVjabhh pic.twitter.com/iJ2s7fSspo
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) August 13, 2023
African scorers in the Nantes-Toulouse match
In the match between Nantes and Toulouse, which ended in defeat for Nantes (1-2), Africans also shone. Egyptian Mostafa Mohamed opened the scoring for Les Canaris from the penalty spot in the 13th minute. Unfortunately, his goal was anecdotal, as his team were pegged back and outscored. The equaliser came from Morocco's Zakaria Aboukhlal (62nd min). The winning goal was scored in injury time by Rasmus Nicolaisen. Aboukhlal is off to a good start to his confirmation season. He scored 10 goals and provided 5 assists with Toulouse last season.
Salah and Maaziz also score in Ligue 1
On their return to Ligue 1, Metz lost 5-1 to Stade Rennais. In this match, Moroccan international Ibrahim Salah scored Rennais' last two goals (87th and 94th min). However, he came on in the 85th minute. Franco-Moroccan midfielder Youssouf Maaziz also stood out despite the defeat. He scored Metz's first goal of the season, which enabled them to equalize a minute after Rennes had opened the scoring (21st).
Azzedine Ounahi was another African to make his mark in the first scheduled match on Saturday August 12, when he scored a magnificent goal for Marseille with an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area to equalize against Reims. The Moroccan metronome was credited with a very good performance by the press overall.Marseille won (2-1).
🚨 INCROYABLE !
Ibrahim Salah marque deux buts après seulement 10min de jeu face à Metz ! 💫🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/zUyCIWmQxu
— TFT MOROCCO (@TFT_Morocco) August 13, 2023
