Abdallah Sima the standout of Lens’s reshaped attack | OneFootball

Abdallah Sima has become the standout in Lens’s reshaped front line, dovetailing with Florian Thauvin, before Sunday’s 17:15 trip to Le Mans in Ligue 1 matchday four.

Head coach Dino Toppmöller has backed the 25-year-old Senegal international, noting he has been decisive, has provoked two opponents’ red cards, helped set up the 1-0 Trophée des Champions win over PSG, and offers pace and aerial threat, while still having areas to improve. He had been fifth or sixth choice under Pierre Sage last season, yet sealed the 3-1 Coupe de France final against Nice and finished with five goals in the competition, a club best.

On Thursday at Slavia Prague, the club where he broke through in 2020-2021, Sima drew a dismissal when he burst towards goal, then scored from close range. A first-half miss underlined his scope to be more clinical.

Lens’s attacking options were shaken in the summer, with Wesley Saïd and Allan Saint-Maximin departing. Odsonne Édouard has been short of preparation, and new arrivals Thorgan Hazard and Franjo Ivanovic have yet to hit the expected level, leaving Sima as Thauvin’s ideal foil.

He is well liked inside the club and remains fondly remembered in Prague, where his face still adorns a wall.

At Brest, on loan from Brighton for the 2024 Champions League, he struck three times in his first two games. This season he has assisted against Auxerre on 22 August and Strasbourg.

Source: L'Équipe

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