Nigeria Stars Abroad: Okereke, Little-Known Aiyegun Back Among The Goals; Troost-Ekong, Kalu Embarrassed

It proved to be a beautiful weekend yet again for Nigerian stars in Europe as their goals, assists and brilliant displays helped their various clubs to pick valuable points as the league matches begin to get into top gear.

Soccernet Nigeria brings you all the actions – from Italy to Switzerland – as it concerns football players of Nigeria descent.

Italy

William Troost-Ekong, Atalanta 7-1 Udinese

A weekend to forget it was for Super Eagles defender Troost-Ekong as his Udine based club were thrashed 7-1 in the Italian Serie A on Sunday.
William Troost-Ekong played all 90 minutes but could not help 10-man Udinese avoid their worst defeat since the Nigeria international joined them.

Stephano Okaka got the visitors’ noses in front after converting an early chance but a bigger challenge surfaced sooner after following the dismissal of Opoku just past the half hour mark.

Last week: Udinese centre half William Troost-Ekong gets his first TOTW card on FIFA

Today: Concedes SEVEN against Atalanta

As Derek Rae would say: "that's a moment he'd like to airbrush from history"

— Archie (@archcorbett) October 27, 2019

3-1 it was at halftime and by the time Muriel had completed his hat trick, two of which were via penalty kicks, Udinese had been totally annihilated by the same team that conceded five goals against Manchester City in midweek.

Ola Aina, Torino 1-1 Cagliari

Torino came from behind to salvage a draw against Cagliari on Sunday afternoon in a game which saw Nigeria international Ola Aina feature for 80 minutes.

Nandez handed the guests a half time lead after opening the scoring barely five minutes before the break.

However, substitute striker Simeone Zaza smashed in the equalizer midway into the second half to give the home fans something to cheer. Ola Aina was pulled out for Laxalt with ten minutes of play left as the hosts search desperately for the winner but it never arrived.

Scotland

Joe Aribo, Sheyi Ojo, Rangers 2-1 Motherwell

Super Eagles midfielder started and played over an hour for Rangers as the Ibrox giants clinched a comeback win over Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League on Sunday.

Motherwell’s Cole put the visitors ahead in the 20th minute but veteran striker Jermaine Defoe got the Gers back on leveled terms on the stroke of half time. Steven Gerrard yanked off Aribo after 70 minutes, sending in Morelos as the home side hunted for a winner.

It arrived with just ten minutes left of regulation time through an Helander strike.

Compatriot Sheyi Ojo came in to the fray as a 65th minute substitute in the game.

South Africa
Daniel Akpeyi, Mamelodi Sundowns 0-2 Kaizer Chiefs

The Nigeria international was one of the heroes as Kaizer Chiefs confirmed their superiority over their arch-rivals with a crushing 2-0 away victory.

Daniel Akpeyi kept yet another clean sheet as his crucial saves against Mamelodi Sundowns, helped Kaizer Chiefs secure a dramatic win at the Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.

Akpeyi was tested time and again by the home side’s attackers, but the Nigerian goalkeeper was up to the task to see his side extend their lead at the summit of the PSL.

A man-of-the-match performance from Samir Nurkovic courtesy of his brace (6′, 78′) ensured the win and a perfect run in Amakhosi’s last four league matches.

Turkey

Victor Moses, Fenerbache 5-1 Koyaspor

On loan Chelsea winger Victor Moses returned to action on Saturday as Fenerbahce thrashed Konyaspor 5-1 in the Turkish Super Lig.

In what was his first appearance for the Yellow Canaries since he suffered a muscle injury on the opening day of the season against Gaziantep FK on August 19, Moses was impressive as he was in action for 81 minutes to help the home side record a huge win.

Though the winger didn’t get on the scoresheet, he was involved in the buildup to Fenerbahce’s second goal in the 14th minute when he dribbled past two Koyaspor defenders in the 18-yard box before finding Jørgensen, who slotted past goalkeeper Taskıran.

The win momentarily pushed Fenerbahce to second in the standings with 17 points, two more than fourth placed Trabzonspor who have played a game less.

England

Alex Iwobi, Brighton 3-2 Everton

Super Eagles playmaker Alex Iwobi was in action for Everton as the Toffees went down 3-2 to Brighton and Hove Albion in the EPL match played on Saturday.

Iwobi was on for 72nd minutes at the American Express Community Stadium, before making way for Dominic Calvert Lewin.

Pascal Gross put the Seagulls ahead with a thunderbolt of a free-kick early in the first half, but Everton were level just minutes later through Adam Webster’s own goal.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the second for Marcos Silver’s side minutes after replacing Iwobi.

But, the game took a dramatic twist just three minutes later, as the video assistant referee (VAR) penalized Michael Keane, for committing a foul in the box.

Maupay made no mistake from the penalty spot to level the score once again, before Everton’s captain Lucas Digne scored a bizarre own goal in added time to condemn the visitors to another loss.

Wilfred Ndidi, Southampton 0-9 Leicester City

Midfield general Wilfred Ndidi was in action for 90 minutes and was one of the best players on the night as Leicester City showed a devastating cutting edge to thrash 10 man Southampton 9-0, a Premier League record for the biggest away win in history.

Southampton’s cause was not helped by getting reduced to ten men following a Ryan Bertrand red card for a tackle on Ayoze Perez in the 12th minute.

After Chilwell’s opener, Ayoze Perez scored in the 19th, 39th and 57th minutes while Jamie Vardy also bagged a hat-trick by scoring in the 45th, 58th and 90th minutes.

Youri Tielemans was on target in the 17th minute with James Maddison also netting a fabulous free-kick.

Belgium

Paul Onuachu, Genk 1-0 Cercle Brugge

Gangling Nigeria striker Paul Onuachu was on from start to finish as Genk recorded a slim win over Cercle Brugge in the Belgian league on Saturday.

The Nigeria international was a handful for the visitor’s defence, but hard as he tried he couldn’t get the better of the goalkeeper who stood firm to deny him.

Sebastien Dewaest’s eighth minute strike was all that separated the two sides and earned all three points for the reigning champions.

While Onuachu was on for the entire duration of the game, Stephen Odey, who grabbed Genk’s last UEFA Champions league goal in midweek, was among the unused substitutes.

David Okereke, Club Brugge 1-1 Standard Liege

The young Nigerian forward smashed in a second half equalizer to help Brugge earn a share of the spoils against high flying Standard Liege.

Bastien gave the away side an early lead which they maintained heading to the break.

https://www.twitter.com/InfosFootBEL/status/1188563614254452737

However within 120 seconds of the restart, the home fans had something to cheer about as Okereke popped up to net an equalizer for the hosts. It was his 3rd goal in 11 games after starting the season brilliantly with 4 strikes in 4 games.

Compatriot Emmanuel Dennis however did not make the squad on the day.

Spain

Asisat Oshoala, Madrid Femenino 0-4 Barcelona

Nigerian forward Asisat Oshoala grabbed a double for Barcelona in their 4-0 rout of Madrid CFF in the Iberdrola league on Saturday night.

Super Falcons star Oshoala, who has been impressive for the Catalan side since joining from China, hit her brace in the 43rd and 46th minute of the encounter.

Jenni Hermoso and Aitana Bonmati scored Barca’s other two goals to complete the rout.

The victory helped the last season’s UEFA women champions league finalists maintain their lead at the top of the table.

France

Victor Osimhen; Samuel Kalu, Josh Maja: Lille 3-0 Bordeaux

Victor Osimhen was not on target but Lille Metropole still had enough in their armoury to snap out of a 5-match winless streak with a 3-0 victory against Girondins de Bordeaux in front of a largely partisan Stade Pierre-Mauroy faithfuls.

Eagles forward Osimhen, 20, who has fired in 8 goals in the league so far played for one hour before being replaced by Loic Remy, due to a suspected injury.

His compatriots, Samuel Kalu and Josh Maja featured as second half substitutes for the Les Girondins but could not affect the course of the game despite posting decent performances.

Germany

Jamilu Collins, Paderborn 2-0 Fortuna Dusseldorf

Jamilu Collins impressed yet again for Paderborn in the Bundesliga and the newly promoted picked up their first win of the season, defeating Fortuna Dusseldorf 2-0 at the Benteler Arena.

Collins and his Paderborn teammates came into week 9 of the German Bundesliga bottom of the table and looking for their first win of the season.

The Nigerian was the third best outfield player on the pitch (7.4 rating per Whoscored.com) , and he got 90 minutes of football locked in.

Goals from Abdelhamid Sabiri (43′) and Sebastian Schonlau (64′) in either half guide the home team to a rare win.

In spite of the win, Paderborn remain rooted to the root of the log with four points from nine games and are three away from safety.

Switzerland

Tosin Aiyegun, FC Zurich 3-2 Basel

Little-known Tosin Aiyegun was the star of the show as FC Zurich claimed the scalp of former champions Basel in a five goal thriller on Sunday evening.

The 21-year-old forward provided an assist and scored another to help the home side defeat their more illustrious opponents.

The left winger, who scored on his debut last month, got Zurich’s equalizer in the 19th minute after Campos had put the visitors ahead from the penalty spot four minutes earlier.

Aiyegun then turned provider for Schonbachler to put the hosts in front just past the hour mark. But Basel quickly struck back shortly after the interval through Comert but it was the home team who had the last laugh following Kramer’s winner on the hour.