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The Nigerian’s understanding of the positions to occupy inside the box makes him a menace to the Parisians on Saturday.
Terem Moffi has had an impressive 2022-23 campaign, scoring a bucketload of goals for Lorient and Nice preceding gameweek 30.
Last week’s opener against Angers took him to 16 Ligue 1 goals this season, 12 coming for Lorient and another four scored since his switch to Nice at the turn of the year.
After firing blanks in his first three games for the Eaglets, Moffi has now scored four times in as many games, also setting up two in that time. The 23-year-old has had an involvement in six of the club’s last seven goals, demonstrating his growing value to caretaker boss Didier Digard.
Paris Saint-Germain are the visitors to the Allianz Riviera on Saturday night, looking to recover from successive Ligue 1 defeats that could potentially reopen the title race if that becomes three consecutive losses this weekend.
Lens and Olympique Marseille are six points adrift of Christophe Galtier’s men, and PSG could come unstuck against a side that has gone 14 games without losing in all competitions since that 2-1 reverse at Rennes on January 2.
The Parisians’ motivation has been questioned since their Champions League exit, so it is not odd to suggest that Nice stun the division’s top side. Moffi’s involvement increases those prospects.
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22:20 - 28.02.2023
ANALYSIS Terem Moffi is a big man, but does not play like one
The Nigeria international finally got off the mark for his new side at the weekend, and the signs are encouraging that his new teammates are starting to adapt to his unusual profile
The young striker has had an impressive return against the league’s big five — PSG, Marseille, Lyon, Monaco and Lille — since moving from Kortrijk in 2020. In 25 games against those clubs, the 23-year-old has found the back of the net 16 times, and Moffi comes face-to-face with the division’s finest, against whom he netted three times in five appearances for Lorient.
Interestingly, every goal scored by the Super Eagle in 2022-23 has come within the box but does not tell the complete story of the Nigerian, whose strikes are varied. However, one theme is evident in many of those goals: a knack for positioning himself in high-probability areas from which goals are scored.
Moffi consistently puts himself in the Positions of Maximum Opportunity (POMO), resulting in either one-touch finishes or goals tucked away after he has created separation with his movement off the ball.
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Be that as it may, that is not how all his goals have been scored.
Moffi has found the back of the net after racing clear of the defence to score (Clermont Foot), making a late run from a defender’s blind side to flick the ball home (Lens), dinking the ball past a goalkeeper who has committed himself (Lyon), smashed home a half-volley with his weaker foot (Brest) and showing impeccable timing to beat Monaco's high line, the technique to control and composure to score his first Nice goal in late February.
We analyse a few of the goals.
Goal against Auxerre
In a gameweek eight fixture in mid-September, Moffi netted his sixth Ligue 1 goal in Lorient's 3-1 success at Auxerre.
When the ball finds its way to Vincent Le Goff, the striker (circled) is still around the penalty spot…
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...but he is already inside the six-yard box to meet Montassar Talbi’s header to double the away side’s advantage.
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Goal against Angers
In last week’s 1-1 draw with Angers, the forward’s understanding of his surroundings made the goal.
As Khephren Thuram slips Gaetan Laborde through, Cedric Hountondji still has Moffi (circled) in his sights...
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However, the centre-forward holds his run and taps home from close range.
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16:31 - 02.04.2023
Terem Moffi's goal not enough as Angers hold Nice
The Super Eagles forward Terem Moffi could not save his team Nice from dropping points on the road.
Goal against PSG
The feeling for Moffi must have been bittersweet after a 2-1 defeat for Lorient against PSG in early November after he scored to make it 1-1 but missed a presentable opportunity to put the home side 2-1 up.
For his goal, the Super Eagle dummies Le Goff’s pass for Enzo Le Fee (circled)…
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...who releases the Nigerian to equalise after 53 minutes.
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However, the forward missed the opportunity to send Lorient ahead four minutes later. Be that as it may, watch his movement to create the opportunity.
When the ball is at Theo Le Bris’s feet, the centre-forward (circled) seems to be in and around the bodies inside the penalty area…
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...but he pulls away, and Le Bris sets him up for the shot that hits the crossbar.
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Moffi has outdone his Expected Goals (xG) in all but one season in Ligue 1, and even though that often tends to be unsustainable, the Nigerian’s ability to score a variety of goals demonstrates the threat carried inside the box.
That and the recognition of POMO areas make him one of the league’s finest strikers. Little wonder why he is only three goals shy of PSG talisman and the league’s leading scorer Kylian Mbappe.
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12:51 - 03.04.2023
EUROEAGLES REVIEW Orban, Akpom, Lookman and Moffi all score, Chukwueze dazzles
Euro Eagles review is a weekly series evaluating the performances of Nigerian players in European leagues across the weekend.
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