The African continent has produced some of the best players to play on the football field. Some players have achieved a lot of success in their careers, while others have shown their talent and entertained the crowd. African players are known for their strength and speed. In recent times, a lot of strikers have emerged, including the likes of Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface. Another striker who is slowly making a name in European football is Marseille’s winter recruit, Faris Moumbagna.
It has been a roller coaster of a journey for the 23-year-old forward. He started his youth career in the United States, before moving to Norway. Faris spent three years in Norway and was loaned out for a season to a Danish club. Bodo/Glimt signed him in January 2023. French giants came to sign the 23-year-old in winter. The youngster has made an impressive start to his career in France. He has represented the Cameroon national team and was also in the 27-man provision squad for AFCON 2023.
Leading Marseille’s attack
Faris Moumbagna has been involved in 15 games combined in the Ligue 1 and the UEFA Europa League. He leads the attack along with Aubameyang, who is another top-quality striker from Africa. Moumbagna has started in six matches. The above viz shows that the player averages 4.5 touches inside the opposition penalty box.
In these many games, Moumbagna has netted four goals. Of these four goals, three came in the Ligue 1 and one in the Europa League.
He averages 2.2 shots per 90 minutes and 41% of these shots have found the target. The xG rate is high because the shots have been attempted from a pretty close range.
In addition to this, the forward also has an assist to his name. A striker these days should know how to link plays with his teammates. This can help a team to score more goals. By looking at the above visual, we can observe that most passes attempted are short passes. On some occasions, the forward attempted a few low crosses to find a teammate inside the box.
Another area where Faris Moumbagna has shown his A-game is in holding the ball in the attack. In the limited number of minutes spent on the field, the forward has won 18 free-kicks. He wins more than two fouls for his team per 90 minutes. Some of the free-kicks came in dangerous attacking areas.
Faris Moumbagna received a red card against Nice in their latest match. He received a couple of yellow cards and was sent off for the first time in a Marseille shirt. The player will look to make improvements in this department.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine