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Onyedika grabs brace in Belgium, Odey hits fourth goal, Dessers, Collins assist in UK
On a bleak weekend for Nigerian strikers in Europe, Victor Osimhen continued his impressive scoring run with Napoli in Serie A, grabbing his 111th career goal, just as Raphael Onyedika scored twice and Stephen Odey ended his 10-game goal drought, writes Abiodun Adewale
SUNDAY
England
OLA AINA (NOTTINGHAM FOREST)
Aina made his second start for Forest against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, since recovering from injury but it ended in a 3-1 defeat against the Top 4 chasing Spurs. Aina’s teammate, Taiwo Awoniyi, is still out with injury as Forest continue to fight for survival for another season in the EPL. With their latest defeat, they are just goal difference away from safety with 25 points after 32 games.
ITALY
Victor Osimhen (NAPOLI)
Despite Napoli’s struggle this season, Osimhen remains a shining light for the Azzurri, as he scored his 12th league goal of the season in their comeback 4-2 win at Monza.
After going down by a goal early in the first half, the Nigerian levelled matters 10 minutes into the second half, and that spurred a ruthless resurgence with more goals from Matteo Politano, Piotr Zieliński, and Giacomo Raspadori.
Osimhen rose high to head home Frank Anguissa’s cross and didn’t mind injuring his nose during the bad fall. The equaliser was his 111th club career goal as he prepares for another adventure at another club next season.
Italy
ADEMOLA LOOKMAN (ATALANTA)
Despite being on for 90 minutes, Lookman couldn’t salvage a point for Atalanta, who agonisingly lost 2-1 to Cagliari. Atalanta were the first to score in the encounter through Gianluca Scamacca but the hosts responded before halftime and Nicolas Viola dealt the final blow two minutes to the end of the game.
FRANCE
AKOR ADAMS (MONTPELLIER)
After firing blanks for 17 games in a row before Sunday, Adams was dropped to the bench and didn’t get any minutes as Montpellier secured a 2-0 win over Lorient to boost their chances of escaping relegation. In his absence, France’s Teji Savanier scored a 55th-minute penalty, and Yann Karamoh doubled the advantage in stoppage time.
TEREM MOFFI (NICE)
Fresh from scoring his 50th Ligue 1 goal last weekend, Moffi was in action for 89 minutes as Nice forced a goalless draw away at Reims. Nice have only won one of their last five games, and they sit fifth in the standings with 44 points after 28 games.
GERMANY
KEVIN AKPOGUMA (HOFFENHEIM)
Defender Akpoguma played the entire duration of the game on the bench as Hoffenheim secured a 3-1 win over Augsburg at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.
The 28-year-old recently returned from a back injury and has featured 14 times in the Bundesliga this season.
DENMARK
STEPHEN ODEY (RANDERS)
Former MFM striker Odey broke his 10-game drought in the Danish top flight with his fourth goal of the season in their 3-1 win away at Hvidovre IF.
Odey’s last scored on October 22, 2023. He now has four goals and two assists in 23 league games.
SCOTLAND
DESSERS, BALOGUN (RANGERS)
Cyriel Dessers played for the entire duration of the game but only made an assist as Rangers and Celtic settled for a thrilling 3-3 draw in a potential Scottish League title decider at Ibrox.
Leon Balogun came on in stoppage time for his 12th SPL appearance of the season.
Celtic stormed into a two-goal lead through Daizen Maeda and Matt O’Riley, while Rangers’ comeback started with captain James Tavernier’s second-half penalty, and Dessers provided the equaliser for Abdallah Sima.
Adam Idah then scored again for Celtic in the 88th minute before Rabbi Matondo levelled matters for the hosts in stoppage time.
SATURDAY
GERMANY
BONIFACE, TELLA (BAYER LEVERKUSEN)
After being sidelined by injury since January, Victor Boniface made his first Bundesliga appearance for run-away champions Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday in their 1-0 win over Union Berlin.
The 23-year-old came on for Borja Iglesias in the 67th minute.
His Nigeria teammate, Nathan Tella, was influential in the win, starring as a wing-back, and grabbed the headlines for his contribution in the build-up to the penalty, which was dispatched by Florian Wirtz in the 48th minute.
Xabi Alonso’s men now need to win their next home game against Werder Bremen on Sunday to wrap up their first-ever Bundesliga title.
ITALY
Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan)
Samuel Chukwueze continued his resurgence, inspiring AC Milan to a resounding 3-0 win over Lecce on Saturday.
The former Villarreal star assisted Christian Pulisic’s goal in the win, with his contribution over the 90 minutes earning him the Man of the Match award.
Recently, Chukwueze scored his first Serie A goal against Verona.
ENGLAND
IWOBI, BASSEY (FULHAM)
Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey were on parade for the duration of the game at Craven Cottage on Saturday, but they couldn’t prevent Fulham from falling to a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle, with Bruno Guimares’ 81st-minute goal separated both sides.
Iwobi and Bassey have been crucial to Fulham’s cause lately, with the former contributing five goals and one assist, while the latter has one goal to his name.
Frank Onyeka (BRENTFORD)
In his 24th EPL appearance this season, Onyeka only played five minutes for Brentford, who played out a thrilling 3-3 draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park, denting their hosts’ chances of playing in the Champions League next season, while they are also fighting off relegation.
The Bees are sitting five points above the drop zone with 29 points after 32 games.
NDIDI, IHEANACHO (LEICESTER)
Wilfred Ndidi played 82 minutes and Kelechi Iheanacho was an unused substitute in Leicester’s 2-1 win over Birmingham at the King Power Stadium.
The win ensured the Foxes remain top of the championship table with 88 points, having played a game less than Ipswich, who are second with 87 points.
DENNIS, DELE-BASHIRU (WATFORD)
Watford’s main man, Emmanuel Dennis, was on for 82 minutes, while Tom Dele-Bashiru played the entire game, as Watford were unable to break down visiting Preston at Vicarage Road.
JAMILU COLLINS (CARDIFF)
Left-back Collins got his fourth assist of the season for Karlan Grant, as Cardiff City suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Hull City.
Since returning from a long layoff due to injury, the defender has featured 34 times in the Championship with a goal to his name.
BELGIUM
TOLU AROKODARE (GENK)
After propelling them to a perfect start in the Belgian First Division A championship play-offs last week, Arokodare saw full-time action as Genk took a step towards the title with a 1-0 win away to Antwerp, who have Chidera Ejuke and Alhassan Yusuf in their ranks.
Genk’s only goal was scored by Anouar Ait El Hadj in the 43rd minute.
YUSUF, EJUKE (ANTWERP)
Chidera Ejuke and Alhassan Yusuf were involved again for Antwerp, as the Belgian champions lost 1-0 at home to Genk to stay winless after two games in the playoffs.
Belgium
RAPHAEL ONYEDIKA (CLUB BRUGGE)
Onyedika bagged a brace for Club Brugge, the first of his career, in their 3-1 win over Anderlecht in the Belgium Jupiler League play-offs on Sunday. After Brandon Mechele had opened the scoring, the midfielder doubled their advantage on the hour mark and made it three with a minute to the end of the game. He now has two goals and one assist in the league this season.
CYPRUS
Francis Uzoho (OMONIA)
Super Eagles goalkeeper Uzoho made his first appearance since January 2 for Omonia in their 3-0 win over Aris in the Cypriot top flight.
The former Nigerian first-choice played 55 minutes, coming on for injured Fabiano, who has been the most preferred shot-stopper.
It was the Nigerian’s sixth appearance in the league this
season.
