Moffi stars as Lorient defeat champions Lille

Nigerian striker Terem Moffi returned to action for his club FC Lorient after the international break with a bang as he helped them to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory over French Ligue 1 champions LOSC Lille in the matchday five encounter.

Moffi, who was Lorient’s player of the season for 2020/21 had been away with Nigeria’s Super Eagles during the international break. The 22-year-old striker made his competitive debut for his country in their 2-1 win over Cape Verde when he entered the fray for captain Ahmed Musa.

Moffi was involved from the beginning of the match and helped set up teammate Armand Lauriente for the game’s opening goal after only seven minutes and put Lorient 1-0 up. The striker picked up the ball inside the Lille half before proceeding on a battering run. As he saw that his path to goal was blocked by a number of white shirts upon his entry into the Lille box, he turned around and laid the ball off for the the arriving Lauriente to smash home beyond the Lille goalkeeper.

The lead didn’t last long before Lille equalised through veteran striker and Turkish international Burak Yilmaz. The experienced striker won a penalty after drawing a foul from Julien Laporte, and then scored from the penalty spot in the 25th minute to momentarily restore parity for the champions.

The match looked set to end in a draw between Lorient and Lille before Moffi scored three minutes to the end of the match to secure maximum points for his side. The striker slid in at the near post after a cross ricocheted into his path, and he diverted the ball beyond the reach of the goalkeeper to ensure his side emerged victorious.

Moffi has now scored two goals and given two assists for Lorient in only five appearances in the league this season to help them reach fourth on the standings. The youngster has continued from where he left off last season, and looks like he has his eyes set on the big boys after scoring his other goal this season against AS Monaco.