Thanks to a two-goal performance against Troyes, Canadian forward Jonathan David has become the first foreign player to reach 40 goals with Lille in France's Ligue 1. David controls the ball in the air during the French League One match Lille against Angers at the Pierre Mauroy stadium Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022 in Lille, northern France. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Michel Spingler
Thanks to a two-goal performance against Troyes, Canadian Jonathan David has become the first foreign player to reach 40 goals with Lille in France’s Ligue 1.
The forward from Ottawa, who turned 23 Saturday, helped Lille to a 5-1 win over Troyes on Sunday.
David roofed a rebound in the 46th minute before heading home a RemyCabella cross in the 87th to reach the 40-goal milestone in 94 games.
With 12 goals on the season, David is tied with Lorient’s Terem Moffi behind Kylian Mbappe’s 13 goals in France’s Golden Boot race. David has one more goal that Brazil’s Neymar, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
And with four assists this season, David joins PSG’s Mbappe as the only other players to have at least 15 goal involvements in each of the last three seasons. The Lille forward has been long rumoured to be making a move to a bigger club.
Lille (10-5-4) currently stands sixth in the French top tier.
David has scored 22 goals for Canada in 38 appearances. He saw action in all three of Canada’s games at the recent World Cup in Qatar starting against Belgium and Croatia and coming off the bench against Morocco.
Fellow Canadian striker Cyle Larin, meanwhile, has been linked with a move from Belgium’s club Brugge to Spain’s Cadiz, currently mired in La Liga’s relegation zone – 19th in the 20-team league at 3-7-6.
With only 11 goals in 16 games, Cadiz needs scoring help. Only 20th-place Elche has scored fewer goals this season, at 10.
Larin is Canada’s all-time men’s scoring leader with 25 goals in 48 appearances. A former MLS rookie of the year with Orlando City, Larin played for Turkey’s Besiktas before joining Brugge in July.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2023.
