The regulars of the Cauldron were starting to get annoyed to see Wahbi Khazri attempting so frequently, for several seasons already, lobs from his half of the field. FC Metz goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja was obviously no more suspicious than that of the Khazri special, Saturday during this match (already) of fear between the 19th and the 20th in Ligue 1. Dragging about twenty meters from his goals, the Algerian international has yet had the bad surprise of being the very first victim of the Stéphane striker in this improbable “exercise”.
💬 “A great goal that rewards the work of colleagues”
Disappointed with the end result of this #FCMASS (1-1), Wahbi #Khazri looks back on his masterpiece with a thought for his teammates 👇 pic.twitter.com/KPY1Xjdy8F
– AS Saint-Étienne (@ASSEofficiel) October 30, 2021
Like Nabil Fekir, Memphis Depay or Saber Khlifa, hitherto holder of the most distant goal scored in L1 with Evian-TG in 2013 (64 meters against Nice, 4-0), Wahbi Khazri has indeed signed “the most beautiful goal »Of his career, after a corner giving nothing for the Lorrainers, who were then leading 1-0. The interested party tells
the following.
I make an effort to come and help my colleagues. The balloon comes over me, I go back up. Metz is in place, I have no solution to pass and I see the goalkeeper very advanced. I have often tried this gesture and people have often laughed at me for it. But there, I tell myself that this is the right solution. I have the success that he returns this time. “
“He tries unpredictable gestures”
After this monumental kick to equalize (1-1, 16th), everyone impatiently awaited the stat ‘Opta. And yes, the Tunisian international has indeed become the record holder for the most distant goal in the French championship, since Opta collects the data for Ligue 1 (in 2006), with 68 meters! His trainer Claude Puel, who had not yet had such an opportunity to smile for two months, confirms that the guy was not at his first attempt: “We are not surprised because that makes seven or eight time he tries it, just since the start of the season. He tries unpredictable gestures, that’s one of his qualities. This one is magnificent, very well balanced, sufficiently deep and quite straight. It’s a stroke of genius! “.
68 – Wahbi Khazri scored from a distance of 68 meters against Metz, the most distant goal scored in Ligue 1 since Opta collected the data (2006/07). Audacity. #FCMASS @ASSEofficiel @ Ligue1UberEats pic.twitter.com/sXDhlPSrYb
– OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 30, 2021
On the bench opposite, Frédéric Antonetti is hardly less enthusiastic, saluting “a gesture of great class” and “an inspiration of a great player that he is”. When we know that the guy is already at 7 goals scored, out of the 12 in total of Sainté, we suspected that such a feat could only come from him, on the Stéphanois side. It would simply have been necessary for the suggestion of a new (stupid) rule from a former OM president to be applied for ASSE (6 points out of 36) to win its first match of the season.