Olympique de Marseille are one of the clubs that have benefited most from savvy performances off the bench in Ligue 1 Conforama, with Serb super-sub Nemanja Radonjic leading the way.
In his second season in Ligue 1 Conforama, Nemanja Radonjic (OM) waited until the 27th match of the league campaign to discover the joys of scoring. The Serbian striker stunned Toulouse three minutes after Marseille opened the scoring on 24 November (0-2, 79'). To get this first goal in Ligue 1 Conforama, the Olympian No7 needed about 20 rounds of ammunition. But goal sparked the Marseille man into action.
Radonjic morphs into Super-sub
Radonjic did it again five days later against Stade Brestois, this time scoring a vital goal to clinch victory for OM at the death (89', 2-1) - just 57 seconds after the Brittany side had equalised and 15 minutes after coming off the bench at the Orange Vélodrome. The man who had not scored in his first 26 league matches had managed to score two goals in a row!
Nemanja Radonjic, perfectly at ease in his supersub role, once again brought his burgeoning super-power to bear in another Marseille victory, this time over the Girondins (3-1), by rounding out the scoring in added time after coming off the bench.
And while OM's brilliant run was halted a week later in Metz (1-1, R18), Radonjic was still riding his wave, with a fourth goal in five appearances off the bench!
The Serb's performances in the first half of the season not only earned him a place in the starting line-up, but also made him the most effective substitute in Ligue 1 Conforama, scoring four goals and earning OM three points.
Angers: Inspired substitutes
In terms of goals, the Serb is ahead of the SCO duo of Rachid Alioui and Casimir Ninga. Chad international Ninga managed the feat of scoring a hat-trick off the bench, in the space of 22 wild minutes against AS Saint-Etienne (4-1, R6), while Morocco striker Alioui the first three of his six goals this season as a substitute, including a spectacular late double away to Toulouse (0-2, 88' and 95').
Behind them, 11 Ligue 1 Conforama players have bagged braces off the bench this season: Mauro Icardi, Eric Choupo Moting (PSG), Boulaye Dia (Stade de Reims), Ibrahima Niané (Metz), Chadrac Akolo (Amiens), Moussa Koné, Kevin Denkey (Nîmes), Victor Osimhen (LOSC), Romain Hamouma (ASSE), Keita Baldé and Islam Slimani (Monaco). The latter, a phenomenon of the first half of the season, knows how to be decisive in all circumstances.
Monaco's Slimani: decisive every time
The Algerian international, whose first 11 league appearances (six goals and eight assists) were as a starter, found a way to make himself indispensable to the team even when he wasn't in the starting line-up. The first time was in January, when Monaco clinched a famous 3-3 draw at PSG's Parc des Princes in coach Robert Moreno's second match in charge, and then a month later on his return from injury with Amiens SC (1-2). In Picardy, Slimani scored in the 2-1 win, helping the principality club to two very welcome extra points.
From the club perspective, Angers SCO find themselves buoyed by their strikers Alioui and Ninga, as they top the ranking with a total of eight goals scored by super-subs, tied Paris Saint-Germain. But while Angers have picked up eight more points thanks to their players from the bench, the Parisian leaders have only gained two more. AS Monaco have seven of their goals scored by substitutes, while Amiens SC, OM and Stade Brestois have five.
Ranking of clubs by number of points clinched thanks to super-sub goals:
1. Angers SCO: 8 points
2. OM and AS Monaco: 5
3. Bordeaux, Nîmes Olympique and Stade Rennais: 3
5. Amiens SC, Stade Brestois, FC Nantes, PSG, ASSE and RC Strasbourg Alsace: 2
