“He proved us wrong” – Retired French defender lauds Adams after equalling Osimhen, Okocha record

Former Toulouse manager Dominique Arribagé has applauded Akor Adams for his excellent goalscoring display on his debut for Montpellier at the weekend, Soccernet.ng reports. 

In his first appearance since joining Montpellier for a record fee from Lillestrom, Adams netted two goals to propel his side to a 2-2 draw with Le Havre.

Adams’ goals made him the fourth Nigerian footballer to score on his Ligue 1 debut, after Austin Okocha for PSG (in 1998), Victor Osimhen for Lille (2019), and Terem Moffi for Lorient (2020).

Both of his goals, however, came in the second half of the encounter at the Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98.

Ex-Toulouse and Rennes defender Arribagé was not impressed with Adams’ first-half performance.

But the 52-year-old retired footballer admits that the Nigerian forward’s display after the halftime break removed every doubt about his ability.

“In the first half, the camera was focused on Akor Adams and it was said that he hardly touched the ball,” Arribagé told Prime Video, as per Allezpaillade.

“And then he proved us wrong by showing all his qualities and everything we know about him. We had mentioned his potential in terms of his height in the penalty area. On the first goal, he really asserts himself physically. He goes over the defender and finishes the play.

“On the second goal, he demonstrated his ability to move, despite Sangante coming back strongly. He’s powerful; he made the difference with his speed. He slightly avoids the goal’s center to get away from the defender and finishes excellently with his left foot.

“He made an impact in the athletic aspect, but as we’ve seen, he’s also capable of making runs and causing trouble throughout the match.”

Adams’ next target will be to continue his excellent scoring run when Montpellier make the trip to the Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu to face Lyon this weekend.