Samuel Kalu ends long goals drought as Bordeaux suffer first loss of the season

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Samuel Kalu came off the bench to score his first Ligue 1 goal since September 2019, as Bordeaux were beaten 2-1 by newly-promoted Lens.
Having struggled in recent times, the Nigeria star has been the subject of transfer speculations — with many sources linking him with a move to Fenerbahçe.
In Saturday’s Round 4 game, though, Kalu netted a late consolation for Les Girondins, after fellow Africans Ignatius Ganago and Gaël Kakuta both scored to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
Already looking like one of the surprise packages of the Ligue 1 season, having claimed back-to-back wins before the clash at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens inflicted the first defeat of the campaign on Bordeaux.
 
 
The newly-promoted side dominated the opening 45 minutes, with their best chance of the half falling to Ganago — who hit Benoît Costil’s woodwork — after Kakuta slipped him through.
Florian Sotoca also went close from range, forcing Costil into a fine save onto his post, before Ganago tested the shot-stopper from close-range.
Earlier on, Jean-Louis Leca had to be on his toes to keep out a Rémi Oudin volley at the back post.
After the break, Lens continued to control the game, and they needed just two minutes to score the opener.
Cameroon international Ganago latched onto a Rémi Oudin’s poor back-pass, rounded the goalkeeper before squeezing in from a tight angle to give Lens the lead.
 
Barely 11 minutes later, Franck Haise’s side were 2-0 up. Paul Baysee earned a second yellow card following a foul on Kakuta, who dusted himself off to convert the resulting penalty.
 
In a desperate attempt to turn things around, coach Jean Louis Gasset replaced three players at a go — with Ruben Pardo, Kalu and Josh Maja all coming on in the 82nd minute.
The substitutions could only yield a late consolation, though — with Kalu connecting perfectly with Yacine Adli’s freekick deep into added time to send a looping header into the top corner of Leca’s post.