Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland have scored their fair share of stunners in this Championship campaign.
Wilson Isidor could put together a Goal of the Season competition of his very own. That 80-yard gallop and finish against Hull City, those two sublime volleys against Oxford United and Coventry… no wonder Isidor’s former Zenit St Petersburg teammate hated facing him on the training pitch.
Chris Rigg’s backheel winner in the Tees Wear derby with Middlesbrough was pretty special too. And then you’ve got those blockbuster efforts from Jude Bellingham [Derby County], Romain Mundle [Luton Town] and Dennis Cirkin [Coventry].
So Matthis Abline, another footballer who appears to have a penchant for the spectacular, would probably have fit in quite nicely under fellow Frenchman Le Bris.
According to L’Equipe, both Sunderland and local rivals Middlesbrough enquired about Abline’s availability during the summer of 2023. Rennes were willing to consider loan offers back then but a prospective switch to England’s second tier has surely moved beyond the realms of possibility these days.
Especially after Abline burst onto the scene with five Ligue 1 strikes in his breakout season, the year after Sunderland’s interest emerged.
And certainly after not after Abline tied the Paris Saint-Germain defence in knots to score a famous goal and secure a famous point for Antoine Kombouare’s team at the home of the reigning French champions.
Former Sunderland target Matthis Abline stuns PSG
Shaping up as if he was going to shoot with his right boot, Abline then shifted the ball rapidly onto his left and burst past William Pacho, PSG’s £40 million central defender.
European Championship-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, meanwhile, could do nothing but watch Abline’s shot fizz past him and into the far corner.
“I’m happy,” Abline smiled, speaking to DAZN about a goal which goes a long way to repaying the club-record £10 million fee Nantes paid to sign him from Rennes shortly after Sunderland’s interest came and went.
“Tonight I managed to do it well, at the beginning [as well] with simple passing and combination play. When I had to play one on one, I did it and it worked well.
“It’s a draw but it’s like a victory for us. We knew how to hurt [PSG]. We knew how to cause them problems, and that’s what we have to rely on.”
The result was not enough to lift Nantes out of France’s bottom three – they remain 17th with only two wins and 11 points to their name – but it is moments such as these which can galvanise struggling teams and give them the self-belief required to push on to greater heights.
Regis Le Bris needs inspiration as Sunderland limp on
Back at Sunderland, while it would be a bit of an overreaction to say the Black Cats are ‘struggling’ themselves, a run of five wins and a draw in six league games leaves the former league leaders looking like a team who could do with an Abline-like moment of magic themselves.
Sunderland have picked up only one point from 12 after falling behind in games this season.
But Nantes’ powers of recovery away at PSG – the most daunting of domestic opponents – is a reminder to any team that nothing is ever foregone conclusion until the final whistle blows.
“We have many young players. And, as I have been saying on a number of occasions, we have young players who are talented, but who need minutes and experiences,” Le Bris said following Friday’s 1-0 loss at Sheffield United.
“The [gap] between the core and these young players, who need experiences, is quite large. I am sure they will be good players in the future. Maybe three months, maybe six months, we don’t know. This is our identity, and we have to take that into account.
“For the coaches and the players, yes we can be frustrated about some elements, but we have to manage it effectively.”