The Nigerian forwards helped their sides to big wins while the Moroccan full-back came close to handing the French champions victory in Ligue 1
Achraf Hakimi came close to giving Paris Saint-Germain the win as the French champions recovered from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Monaco in a Ligue 1 clash at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Aleksandr Golovin slipped through Kevin Volland who broke the deadlock after 20 minutes and they looked to be holding on for a memorable win before Neymar pulled one back with a 70th-minute penalty after Maghnes Akliouche’s tackle landed at his feet.
Christophe Galtier’s men then pushed on for a winner, with Hakimi hitting the woodwork five minutes later. The Moroccan decided to surprise the goalkeeper with a quick shot from the edge of the box, but his effort came back off the right post.
Hakimi ended the goal with a 94 per cent pass accuracy after completing 46 of his 49 passes while bringing in two crosses and winning as many tackles as PSG dropped their first points of the season.
At the Stade du Moustoir, Nigeria forward Terem Moffi scored both goals as Lorient beat Clermont Foot 2-1, opening the scoring with a 25th-minute penalty after Neto Borges clumsily took out Dango Ouattara in his own area.
Moffi then finished off a devastating counter-attack, picking up the ball in his own half before skipping past two defenders and rounding the goalkeeper to roll the ball into an empty net. Muhammed Cham pulled one back for Clermont on the hour mark.
Meanwhile, Moffi’s Nigeria compatriot Moses Simon scored and provided an assist as Nantes came from behind to beat newly-promoted Toulouse 3-1 at Stade de la Beaujoire.
Morocco international Zakaria Aboukhlal opened the scoring for Toulose after finishing clinically for his first goal since joining from AZ Alkmaar in the 15th minute and they held on for a 1-0 half-time lead.
However, after seeing his deliveries to Evann Guessand and Fabio saved by Maxime Dupe in Toulouse’s goal, Simon, previously the only Nantes player to score in open play, got away from Mikkel Desler and delivered a cross that Guessand headed in five minutes after the restart.
Guessand then turned provider, as Mohamed Mostafa met the striker’s cross and headed across Dupe to put the hosts in front and Nantes had their third in the space of just 11 minutes when Mostafa chested a cross down and Moses took over to finish emphatically for his second of the season.
In the French Riviera, Democratic Republic of Congo defender Chancel Mbemba expressed his delight at seeing his side Marseille record a 3-0 victory over OGC Nice in the Derby de la Cote d’Azur.
Mbemba played all 90 minutes in a three-man defence as first-half goals from new signings Alexis Sanchez and Nuno Tavares gave Marseille the huge win.
“Very important victory, congratulations to the whole team @OM_Officiel,” Mbemba said after the match.
Ivorian defender Eric Bailly, who joined the club this week from Manchester United, was a 58th minute substitute, coming on for former Arsenal man Sead Kolasinac. Mbemba’s RD Congo teammate Cedric Bakambu was also a second-half substitute, coming in after 68 minutes to replace Dimitri Payet.
Elsewhere, Tunisia international Wahbi Khazri scored and set up a goal in Montpellier’s 7-0 demolition of Stade Brest.
The visitors raced into a three-goal lead in the space of 11 minutes with Khazri setting up Elye Wahi for the second in the 10th minute after Faitout Maouassa had given them a sixth-minute lead before the Tunisian scored the third.
A second goal from Wahi added to a brace from Frenchman Valere Germain and Nicolas Cozza’s strike completed the rout.
In another match, Senegalese midfielder Dion Lopy saw a straight red card as Stade de Reims drew 1-1 with Olympique Lyonnais. Japanese forward Junya Ito gave Reims a 24th-minute lead but as the home side were holding on for the slim win, they received a setback when Lopy was sent off in the 63rd minute for a sliding challenge.
Lyon took advantage of their numerical strength and launched countless attacks which yielded an equaliser via French striker Moussa Dembele four minutes from time.
From goal.com