The Morocco and the Cameroon internationals delivered impressive performances to inspire the Black and Whites to victory at Roazhon Park
Sofiane Boufal scored his first goal of the season while Stephane Bahoken provided an assist as Angers secured a 2-1 comeback win over Rennes in Friday’s Ligue 1 game.
Boufal returned to Stade Raymond Kopa this month, where he started his career, after parting ways with Premier League club Southampton.
The 27-year-old was afforded his second appearance since his arrival against Julien Stephan’s men and delivered an impressive performance.
The Morocco international was handed a starting role, playing behind Cameroon international Bahoken, who led Angers attack.
The Black and Whites started the match on the back foot, allowing Adrien Hunou to open the scoring for Rennes in the 18th minute.
Eight minutes later, Angers drew level when Bahoken set up Boufal, who fired his effort past Senegal international and Rennes goalkeeper Alfred Gomis.
After the restart, both sides continued their quest to secure all three points, making some changes to ensure they realize their targets.
11 minutes into the second half Angelo Fulgini scored the all-important winning goal after receiving a timely assist from Ivory Coast international Ismael Traore.
Boufal featured for 71 minutes as well as Senegal forward Sada Thioub, who was replaced by Jimmy Cabot while Ivory Coast international Souleyman Doumbia was introduced for Enzo Ebosse.
French-born Cameroonian Ibrahim Amadou featured for the duration of the game for Angers along with Gomis, Morocco’s Naif Aguerd, Ghanaian Jeremy Doku and Mali defender Hamari Traore, who were on parade for Rennes.
With the victory at Roazhon Park, Angers moved to sixth on the Ligue 1 table after gathering 13 points from eight games.
Boufal and Bahoken will hope to continue their productive partnership when the Black and Whites take on Nice in their next league game on November 1.
While Boufal has 16 caps for Morocco, Bahoken has played 10 times for Cameroon, scoring three goals since switching his allegiance to the West African country from France.
They will be expected to play prominent roles for their respective countries in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
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