Jupiler Pro League Recap: Ibrahima Cissé scores on emotional Gent debut

On many occasions, a player’s professional debut can arrive when his club is under duress and the moment arrived for towering Senegalese forward Ibrahima Cissé when Wilfried Kanga was forced off inside twenty minutes due to injury during KAA Gent’s 3-1 Jupiler Pro League victory over KV Mechelen.

 

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The 18-year-old celebrated an emotional moment after a sensational run and finish late on in the match to clinch victory for the hosts. Cissé had made only six appearances for Gent’s reserve team in the second tier Challenger Pro League before his moment on Sunday, but looked more than ready for the occasion.

The 1.96m forward showed why he is a talent to watch and there are likely to be more opportunities to establish himself after Kanga’s injury.

Otherwise, contributions from African players in the Belgian top flight were muted. Ivorian playmaker Parfait Guiagon added his fifth assist of the campaign for Charleroi in a 2-2 draw at FCV Dender.

In the same match, Angolan international Marsoni Sambu also contributed an assist on the other end to mark his third of the season for Dender. The right back debuted with Angola at the 2024 COSAFA Cup to help the Palancas Negras win the title.