Folarin Balogun picks up where he left off with brace against Rennes 

Folarin Balogun is still firing on all cylinders at French club Reims, where he is on loan until the end of the 2022-2023 season. 

In his first game after the World Cup break, the Arsenal-owned striker inspired the Red and Whites to a 3-1 win over Rennes, with a brace in a Ligue 1 match staged at the Stade Auguste-Delaune.

And in doing so, the England U21 international of Nigerian descent took his tally for the season to ten goals, which is bettered only by Paris Saint Germain superstars Kylian Mbappe (13) and Neymar (11).

Balogun picked up where he left off from, putting Reims ahead in the sixth minute when he fired home an acrobatic volley.

And with the visitors pushing for an equalizer, he made the game safe for Reims in the 84th minute as he took advantage of a poor clearance and headed the ball into an empty net 

Balogun has now scored in three consecutive home matches for the first time in his professional career. 

Reims are tenth in the standings with 20 points accumulated from sixteen games ahead of their trip to Lille on January 2, 2023.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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