There were days without, a few frustrating matches too, but coach Antoine Kombouaré was able to breathe new life into Nantes' attack, which will try to take advantage of it again on Sunday in Bordeaux (3 p.m. ). Before the arrival of the Kanak technician in February, the Canaries had scored 22 goals and garnered 19 points in 24 Ligue 1 matches. Since then, they are 38 goals and 34 points in 23 L1 matches (14 last year, 9 this season), with a virtually unchanged workforce. Last season's revelation, Randal Kolo Muani continues to panic the opposing defenses, even if he has only scored two goals this season. “
He eliminates, he provokes, he makes differences. He must be more killer but it's already very good
», Greets Kombouaré, relieved not to have seen him fly to Germany this summer.
“
He's got everything, he's tall, he's going fast, with good ball protection (...).
On the intrinsic qualities, I put him in the top 5 attackers of L1
”, greeted the Angevin defender Romain Thomas after the 4-1 inflicted by Nantes in September.
To discover
Ligue 1 fixtures and results
League 1 standings
Moses Simon in rocket mode
Above all, Kombouaré was able to put Moses Simon back into orbit.
Brilliant on his arrival in Nantes (9 goals and 8 assists in 2019/2020), the Nigerian winger died last year.
But he got up at the end of last season (4 goals and 5 assists in 13 matches) and rose to the top of the passers rankings at the start of the season, with already 5 caviars to his credit.
"
You put it on one side and you have a rocket,
" says Kombouaré, admiring his repeated acceleration strokes.
While recalling: “
it's a story of trust.
He is happy in life, so he expresses it in the field
”.
Kombouaré made the choice of the game and clearly turned his team forward.
The influence of the Blas-Chirivella tandem
For this, he can count on Ludovic Blas, another potentially starting asset but ultimately remained in his hand.
Appointed as a penalty taker since the departure of Imran Louza, the attacking midfielder is already shooting 5 goals, including three in the course of the game. The Kanak coach also had the good idea to bet on Pedro Chirivella, rather discreet and neglected since arriving last summer from Liverpool.
Now firmly installed in the heart of the game, the Spanish midfielder tirelessly squares the field and is formidable in the pressing as in the recovery.
"
If it is important in the balance of the team, it is also our first raiser, the one who is able to go up the game or to reverse it
", greets the coach.
Lightning and confidence
Despite this undeniable progress, the Canaries continue to have bad days. Like these two frustrating defeats against Lyon (1-0 despite 18 shots including 5 on target) and Nice (2-0 despite 19 shots including 7 on target). But they were able to become dangerous again on set pieces. From the first day, a header from Jean-Charles Castelleto on a corner from Moses Simon brought back a precious point from Monaco (1-1). In Angers, it was Girotto who opened the scoring in the same way from the 3rd minute (4-1). And while the Canaries stammered their football 10 days ago against Troyes, a new header from Girotto, on a corner from Wylan Cyprien, put them on the right track (2-0). "
There is not much that succeeded us last season, it has to turn a little
Full-back Dennis Appiah joked after the game.
"
We shoot them better, we are more present, we believe in them perhaps a little more
".
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/N2FONJNZF353LTCY6JX5VZMUWU.jpg)
