Former Rangers loanee Lassana Coulibaly lit up a Ligue 1 fixture between Angers and Nîmes on Sunday with an assist and a fine volley.
Coulibaly spent the 2018/19 season at Ibrox and initially impressed in midfield before his form dipped and he slipped down the pecking order.
The Gers opted against making a permanent move for the Mali international and he subsequently returned to parent club Angers.
Coulibaly then spent the 2019/20 campaign on loan at Belgian Pro League side Cercle Brugge, where he didn’t manage to grab many headlines in a side that only narrowly avoided relegation.
However, he’s finally managed to establish himself in the Angers starting XI this season, featuring in 19 of their 22 league matches to date.
The 24-year-old held his own against Neymar and co. in a narrow 1-0 defeat to PSG in mid-January and at the weekend, he rounded off the first month of 2021 with a superb showing.
Coulibaly was everywhere against Nîmes at the Stade Jean-Bouin and he set up the hosts’ opener in the 20th minute.
The powerful midfielder showed great work rate before winning the ball back from an opposition defender on the edge of the box. He then assessed his options and after partially committing the goalkeeper, squared for Pierrick Capelle to finish into a near-open goal.
The former Gers loanee isn’t known for his work in the final third, but he doubled his side’s lead in the 35th minute with an expertly taken left-footed volley from around the penalty spot after being picked out by a cross from the left.
Coulibaly was booked just prior to the interval after the visitors had pulled a goal back from the penalty spot, but he remained influential in the second half and Loïs Diony restored the hosts’ two-goal advantage in the 55th minute.
Despite being substituted with 12 minutes remaining, Coulibaly achieved the highest WhoScored rating of any player in the game (8.17) and the 3-1 victory left Angers eighth in the Ligue 1 table ahead of big clubs like Marseille, Montpellier and Bordeaux.
Coulibaly isn’t the only ex-Ger faring well in an overseas league this season, with a former fan favourite starring in the Turkish top flight.
