Josh Maja on target in Bordeaux victory at Angers

The Nigerian forward opened his goal account for the season which gave Les Girondins maximum points on the road

Josh Maja scored his first goal of the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season as Bordeaux claimed a 2-0 win over Angers at the Stade Raymond Kopa on Sunday.

Les Girondins kicked off the campaign with a goalless draw against at home to Moses Simon’s Nantes last week.

It was a game with little chances created, but there was none of that in Maine-et-Loire with Maja giving Bordeaux the lead in the 25th minute.

Nicolas De Preville’s corner met the head of former Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny, who headed into the path of Maja to tap in from close range.

Bordeaux’s lead was extended just two minutes later thanks to Toma Basic who latched onto a loose ball from Ui Jo Hwang, skipped past two challenges before burying his effort into the bottom left corner of the net.

Compared to the Nantes encounter where Bordeaux had only one shot on target, they produced seven this time with none off target.

Maja featured for 45 minutes in that encounter also, but lasted 65 minutes on Sunday, producing three of Bordeaux’s seven shots on target, missed one big chance, had 23 touches on the ball and 11 accurate passes at a 91% success rate. He also won half of his eight ground duels.

His competitive tally for the 2009 Ligue 1 champions now stands at 10 strikes in 33 outings since joining from Sunderland in January 2019.

He was taken off for French forward Jimmy Briand.

Another Nigerian to feature for Bordeaux was Samuel Kalu. He started off the bench for the second game in a row and took the place of South Korea international Jo Hwang, this time in the 77th minute.

Kalu had limited impact but was still able to have 17 touches, six accurate passes from eight at 75% and won four of six ground duels.

The Super Eagles winger has been at Matmut Atlantique since arriving from Gent in August 2018 and has played 55 times in all competitions, scoring five goals and providing six assists.

Bordeaux’s next assignment is a home tie with seven-time league champions Olympique Lyon on September 11.

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