Serhou Guirassy Set for Dominance after Matching Mo Salah’s Landmark Record

For much of the past two years, Serhou Guirassy has been a striker with a modest career until Wednesday night when he made history by matching Mohamed Salah's record for the most goal involvements by an African player in a single UEFA Champions League season. By matching Salah's record, Guirassy solidifies his position among the elite African players in the Champions League, further highlighting his impact on the European stage.

Hitherto considered a journeyman, Canadian bettors frequently overlooked Guirassy on their betting slips until his recent scoring explosion forced them to take notice of his remarkable consistency in front of the goal. This is not surprising given that the forward has relegations from the German and French top tiers on his resume without producing a 15-goal season until last term. The striker is now almost at the top of the Champions League scoring charts with his latest performance against his former club Lille, where he provided a crucial assist in Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 victory, securing a 3-2 aggregate win and a spot in the quarterfinals. The goal was then netted in by Maximilian Beier.

Who is Serhou Guirassy?

Guirassy started his professional career at Laval in France, where he scored six goals in 29 matches during the 2014-15 Ligue 2 campaign. This performance earned him a move to Lille for approximately €1 million.

His Lille stint proved disappointing. Under manager Herve Renard, who departed in November of his first season, Guirassy earned just three league starts before a loan to Auxerre. The second-division club saw better results from the young striker, who netted eight goals in 16 appearances.

Despite interest from Arsenal, his next destination became Cologne in Germany. The transfer hit complications when medical concerns prompted a renegotiation, eventually settling at about €4 million. His time in Cologne saw minimal impact due to injuries; he missed 41 games through various ailments, scoring only four Bundesliga goals across two seasons before the club suffered relegation.

Multiple Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Newcastle, pursued Guirassy last summer. He ultimately chose Borussia Dortmund, who triggered his €17.5 million release clause. Despite an injury-delayed debut, his impact proved immediate. With 24 goals in 34 games, including 10 in the Champions League, Guirassy established himself among Europe’s elite forwards in his first-ever Champions League campaign.

Credit: Iconsport

Journeyman Proves not to be a Disappointment

Ahead of the crucial Champions League second leg against Lille, manager Niko Kovac has made no secret of just how vital Guirassy is to the team. He even went as far as telling a press conference that the striker is “our life insurance.” Guirassy ultimately lived up to his coach’s expectation by providing a crucial assist that makes it his 14th goal involvement in the current European campaign.

As Opta puts it, “Serhou Guirassy's 14 goal involvements in the UEFA Champions League this season (10 goals, 4 assists) is the joint-most by an African player in a single campaign in the competition, along with Mohamed Salah in 2017-18.” Guirassy has featured in 34 out of a possible 38 matches, placing immense strain on the striker, who has already battled minor injuries this season. Not even the demands of Ramadan and a heavy workload have been able to slow down Guirassy as he asserts “I came here to play every game.”

Guirassy's form has been key, if not decisive, in Dortmund's success this season, and his ability to both score and create goals has made him a key figure in the team. With 24 goals and five assists in 34 matches, this goal-scoring machine has now equalled Salah as the African player with the most goals/assists in a single Champions League season (14). Sportblot recalls that the Egyptian had the same stats during the 2017-18 European season with Liverpool FC.

Erstwhile Journeyman Set to Outshine Salah

Guirassy’s feat is a fallout of Salah’s exit from the Champions League. Whether Salah ever gets the chance to respond to this eclipse of his goal/assist record depends on his next move. Should he leave Liverpool for Saudi Arabia, the heartbreaking defeat to PSG might prove to be his last-ever appearance in the Champions League. It would be recalled that the Egyptian International was inconsolable after the Reds lost the match 1-0 in regular and extra-time, and in the penalty shoot-out to Paris Saint-Germain. Salah scored his penalty but it wasn't their night. Salah, whose contract ends this season, was visibly heartbroken.

The Guinean now has the chance to outshine his Egyptian counterpart. However, he will need to be decisive once again against Barcelona in the quarter-finals scheduled for April to help the German club advance past this crucial stage of the competition. It's a challenging yet possible task, considering he already scored a brace against the Catalan club during the group stage. With his 10 goals, the runner-up for the 2024 African Ballon d'Or is third in the UEFA Champions League top scorers' list this season, tied with Harry Kane, who is second in the standings.