Khazri scores stunner from own half in Saint-Etienne draw | OneFootball

Wahbi Khazri scored a memorable goal from inside his own half but it was not enough for AS Saint-Etienne to claim their first win of the season on Saturday as they drew 1-1 away to FC Metz.

FC Metz 1-1 AS Saint-Etienne

THE MATCH

The bottom two coming into the weekend met at the Stade Saint-Symphorien with Metz looking for a first home league win since January and their visitors looking for a first victory of the campaign and to avoid setting a new club record for the longest run without a win in their top-flight history.

The afternoon got off to a disastrous start for Saint-Etienne, who lost midfielder Yvan Neyou to a serious-looking ankle injury early on and then fell behind in the ninth minute when Farid Boulaya curled in a free-kick from almost 30 metres.

However, Saint-Etienne drew level in stunning fashion in the 16th minute. A Metz counter-attack was thwarted and Khazri brought the ball upfield. Spotting Alexandre Oukidja well off his line, the Tunisian international tried his luck from well inside his own half, the ball sailing over the Metz goalkeeper’s head and in for a truly remarkable goal.

Khazri was then denied by Oukidja from much closer in not long before half-time, and chances were few and far between in the second half as these sides settled for a draw that is not much help for either. They have still won just once between them this season.

THE PLAYER: Wahbi Khazri

Khazri’s importance to Les Verts is such that there was little prospect of him not playing here despite struggling during the week with an ankle problem. His goal was a contender for goal of the season and came from a stunning distance of some 68 metres. He has now scored seven times this season. That is two more than the rest of the Saint-Etienne squad combined. How they will miss him when he heads to the Africa Cup of Nations with Tunisia in January.

THE STAT: 14

Saint-Etienne have now set a new club record of 14 Ligue 1 matches without a win, beating the previous record of 13 winless matches set in 1988. Meanwhile Metz have now gone 14 home Ligue 1 games without a win, with five draws and nine defeats in that time. It is also a club record.

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