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By: Ebenezer Bajela.
Nigeria’s latest sensation Akor Adams’ second-half performance on his debut for Montpellier has drawn praises from former Toulouse manager, Dominique Arribagé, who said the striker proved many wrong with his impressive display.
Following a move from Norwegian side Lillestrom last week, the Nigerian was handed his first appearance in Ligue 1 by coach Michel Der Zakarian and he scored both goals in their 2-2 draw against Le Havre at the Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday.
The former Flying Eagles striker’s brace means he became the fourth Nigerian footballer to score on his Ligue 1 debut, after Austin Okocha for PSG (in 1998), Victor Osimhen for Lille (2019) and Terem Moffi for Lorient (2020).
Also, according to the statisticians at OPTA, his brace was the fastest double for a player on his debut in Ligue 1 since OPTA started analysing the competition in 2006/2007, with just a minute and 42 seconds between them.
Reacting to the 23-year-old’s second-half performance, the 52-year-old Arribagé, a retired footballer, said the forward proved many doubters wrong with his display.
“In the first half, the camera was focused on Akor Adams and it was said that he hardly touched the ball,” Arribagé told Prime Video, as per Allezpaillade.
“And then he proved us wrong by showing all his qualities and everything we know about him. We had mentioned his potential in terms of his height in the penalty area. On the first goal, he really asserts himself physically. He goes over the defender and finishes the play.
“On the second goal, he demonstrated his ability to move, despite Sangante coming back strongly. He’s powerful; he made the difference with his speed. He slightly avoids the goal’s center to get away from the defender and finishes excellently with his left foot.
“He made an impact in the athletic aspect, but as we’ve seen, he’s also capable of making runs and causing trouble throughout the match.”
Adams will aim to continue his goal scoring run when La Pallaide travel to Lyon in their next Ligue 1 match August 19.