- Super Eagles forward cancelled out Brest’s early lead
- Moffi now joint top in Ligue 1 Golden Boot race
- Ivorian winger Pepe nets third goal for new side Nice
WHAT HAPPENED? Romain Del Castillo gave Brest a 17th minute lead but Nigeria forward Moffi canceled it out seven minutes later when his shot from the right side of the area went in off the left post for his seventh goal of a stellar campaign so far.
Lorient eventually edged in front eight minutes after the restart when the ball fell to Moffi inside the area, and he rolled it past the goalkeeper for his second goal of the game.
Meanwhile, Pepe scored what turned out to be the winner for Nice when he made up for his earlier blunders by executing a great individual effort to make it 3-0 for his new side inside 50 minutes after Italian defender Mattia Viti and Algerian forward Andy Delort (penalty) had given them a 2-0 half-time lead.
Troyes scored two goals in the final 10 minutes but it was too little too late as Nice held on to record just their third victory in 10 games.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lorient have one of the most potent attacking teams in the division and despite missing their second-highest scorer Dango Ouattara, Moffi came up trumps once again as he did not just get his side back in the game but also helped them to victory.
Moffi’s goals have pushed Lorient to an unlikely title race, sitting second on 25 points, one behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, having won their last five matches, a period in which the Nigerian has netted four times.
At the Allianz Riviera, Ivorian forward Pepe made it back-to-back goals for Nice who are 13th on the table, having scored in Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Czech side Slovacko in the Europa League. Pepe had found goals hard to come by, given he last scored in Nice’s first win of the season against Lille on August 31.
ALL EYES ON: Moffi had failed to score in Lorient’s 2-1 win over Lille last week but he was not to be denied again, and has now scored eight goals in 10 games to take him joint top in the Golden Boot race alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, both of PSG.
THE VERDICT: Moffi looks to have come of age this season given he has already equalled last season’s tally in early October and if Lorient manage to push PSG all the way, the Super Eagles forward will have a big say.
Pepe, meanwhile, still has a long way before convincing his doubters that he has a future at the Emirates Stadium as he has been slow off the blocks for Nice even if he already has the same number of goals as last season.
WHAT NEXT? Moffi will hope to continue his scoring run against 15th-placed Reims, who are winless in their last five matches, while Pepe’s Nice host Slovacko in the return leg on Thursday before facing newly-promoted Auxerre on Sunday.
