The Nigeria international set up one of the goals that helped the Canaries clinched victory at Stadium Municipal
Moses Simon provided an assist as Nantes secured a 2-1 victory over Toulouse in the first leg of the Ligue 1 relegation playoffs on Thursday night.
The 25-year-old was handed his 28th league appearance and made a critical impact to help his side brighten their chances of avoiding relegation at the end of the 2020-21 campaign.
After ending the regular season in the 18th spot on the league table following 40 points from 38 games, they managed to avoid an automatic drop as they qualified for the relegation playoffs.
The Canaries were paired along with Toulouse that finished third in Ligue 2 to slug it out for the Ligue 1 ticket.
Nantes hit the ground running in the encounter, with Simon setting up Ludovic Blas to open the scoring in the 10th minute of the encounter.
Nine minutes later, Deiver Machado levelled proceedings for Toulouse after receiving an assist from Vakoun Issouf Bayo.
Randal Kolo Muani then handed the lead to Nantes in the 22nd minute when he pounced on a loose ball after Mali international Kalifa Coulibaly’s effort was parried by goalkeeper Maxime Dupe.
The strike proved crucial as it ensured Antoine Kombouare’s men secured a first-leg advantage ahead of the second leg.
The second half failed to produced goals despite attempts from both sides with the best chance falling the way of Coulibaly but was unable to find the back of the net.
Simon has now made 33 appearances in the French top-flight this season, scoring six goals and providing five assists.
The winger featured for 79 minutes before making way for Andrei Girotto, while his teammate Coulibaly was on parade for 65 minutes before he was replaced by Marcus Regis Coco.
Ghanaian Dennis Appiah, Cameroon’s Jean-Charles Castelletto and Mali’s Charles Traore lasted for the entirety of the game for the Canaries.
Simon will hope to deliver another impressive performance in the second leg of the encounter on Sunday.
The Super Eagles star has been with Nantes since the summer of 2019 when he teamed up with the side initially on loan before the deal was made permanent.
The fleet-footed winger will hope to help the Canaries avoid relegation by securing victory over Toulouse.
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