After suffering three defeats on the spin, Nantes weren’t expected to rock up at Angers and stun the high-flying hosts 4-1.
The eventual result was even more stunning because it was wholly deserved. The Canaries created better chances and merited the three points.
Moses Simon played a significant part in the win, setting up two goals of the away side’s quartet of strikes.
Now up to five assists this season, the Nigeria wide attacker has played a direct part in all but two Nantes goals after six games. The attacker leads the way in the entire Ligue 1, having ranked the joint-top assister along with Kylian Mbappe for a few weeks.
In addition to assisting two goals, Simon was involved in four shot-creating actions — only Randal Kolo Muani outdid the West African — and three goal-creating actions, a joint-high for the visitors.
The 26-year-old’s five progressive carries ranked second in the team and only two colleagues outdid him for progressive passes.
His numbers are even more impressive when you consider that he played only 65 minutes at Stade Raymond Kopa, with Antoine Kombouare replacing his key player with the team already 3-1 up.
The Canaries eventually added a fourth, and the manner of their success pleased Kombouare.
“I was waiting for this from my players. My players took responsibility today,” the Nantes boss asserted after the match.
“I congratulate them! When you are on three consecutive defeats, you ask yourself a lot of questions.
“Angers had not lost at home this season, so I'm happy to see us regain our efficiency. And we scored our four goals from four shots on target. I like it.
“We made more mistakes, but that means that we could depend on Alban Lafont to makes the saves. We were due some luck because we never doubted.
“This win makes us breathe a little better. At last!”
With Moses in such creative form for Nantes, they will now look forward to their next match on their turf against struggling Stade Brest who remain winless after six games.
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Seye Omidiora is a passionate football writer and pundit whose deep appreciation for the beautiful game exceeds the usual. He is currently a columnist for Goal Africa and has previously written for Vital Football UK, IBCity Info and Opera News.
Follow him on Twitter @theReal_SeyE
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