Allan Saint-Maximin Matches Gignac’s Feat With Scoring Debut for América

According to Mexican reports, Allan Saint-Maximin made an immediate impact in his debut for América during the sixth round of the Apertura 2025, scoring a goal and becoming only the second French player to do so in Liga MX history, following André-Pierre Gignac with Tigres in 2015.

The forward came off the bench and received a cross from Isaías Violante on the right wing. He finished inside the box past Camilo Vargas, putting América ahead 3-2 in the 4-2 victory over Atlas. The goal places Saint-Maximin alongside Gignac as the only French players to score on their Mexican league debut.

Gignac had scored in his debut on August 9, 2015, in a 2-2 draw against Guadalajara, cutting in from the wing after a long pass and finishing past the goalkeeper. To date, the Tigres striker has 188 goals in Liga MX, all with the club.

Other French players in Liga MX include Amara Simba (León, 1997), Andy Delort and Timothée Kolodziejczak (Tigres, 2016 and 2017), Jérémy Ménez (América, 2018), Florian Thauvin (Tigres, 2021), Julien Celestine (León), and Sebastian Salles-Lamonge (Atlético de San Luis). None scored on their debut, making Saint-Maximin’s achievement particularly notable a decade after Gignac’s first goal.