Kaiserslautern/Magdeburg/DUR – Samuel Loric needed just 17 minutes to score his first goal for 1. FC Magdeburg. An impressive figure, after all, the 24-year-old Frenchman is not a striker, but a left-back.
Loric experienced a memorable game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Sunday, in which he played a key role. In the 2-2 draw at Betzenberg, he slipped into the starting line-up for the first time ever due to a shortage of personnel on the flanks.
This apparently surprised the opponent so much that he left Loric standing completely free 18 meters from the goal during a corner kick in the eleventh minute. Martijn Kaars saw this, played the ball to the edge of the penalty area, where the left-footer took full risk and scored powerfully to make it 2-0.
FCM coach praises Samuel Loric: “Justified his formation”
“When he takes a corner, he has to hit the ball perfectly, that’s what he did,” said coach Christian Titz about the starting eleven debutant: “It was a good game from him, he confirmed what we expected: fast, strong in tackles, had good ones Offensive actions.”
Read here: Kaars and Michel blocked! FCM personnel concerns are becoming ever greater
In fact, Loric was no stranger to the FCM game; the Frenchman kept up physically for 90 minutes despite being outnumbered. And that despite the fact that he had actually been out permanently with Achilles tendon problems since his last-minute signing a good two months ago.
Loric played 30 minutes in the friendly against Cottbus in October, then six minutes the previous week against Hannover 96. Suddenly he was a regular at Betzenberg in front of 45,000 spectators – and played a good game. “He justified his position,” said Titz.
Read here: The FCM individual criticism of the 2:2 at Betzenberg
Samuel Loric could become important in the coming weeks as the staff on the flanks is becoming thin. Lubambo Musonda and Herbert Bockhorn are out for a long time, Mo El Hankouri has knee problems and Philipp Hercher keeps suffering from small injuries.
Loric becomes a prime example of why the FCM acquired a very broad squad in the summer. Given the failures, the Frenchman was needed against Kaiserslautern and immediately delivered a good performance – including a dream goal.
