It was a night of mixed fortunes for Nigerian players in Europe as some joyfully celebrated victory, others suffered the pains of defeat.
In the Netherlands, Cyriel Dessers grabbed his 12th goal of the league campaign, but it was only enough to earn Heracles Almelo a share of the points with their hosts Heerenveen.
Dessers got the game’s opener in the 54th minute, but the lead only lasted two minutes as Heerenveen struck back through Joey Veerman.
Nigerian youngster Chidera Ejuke was on the pitch for 88 minutes, but he could not inspire the hosts to victory over a side they humiliated 4-0 earlier in the campaign.
In France, Victor Osimhen and Moses Simon suffered disappointing defeats with their clubs, while Samuel Kalu’s Bordeaux also succumbed to a late Mbaye Niang sucker punch as Rennes ran away with a 1-0 win.
Kalu, who played as a right wingback in the encounter, was in action for the entire duration of the game.
It was a similar fate in Italy for Ola Aina, who played the full 90 minutes but could not stop Torino from crashing at home to struggling Spal.
The hosts went ahead in the fourth minute when Tomas Rincon poked home, but Spal got back in the game just before half time after a Gabriel Strefezza equalizer.
Torino were then reduced to ten men when Bremer received his marching orders for a second bookable offence.
And a terrible night got worse for the home side when Andrea Petagna headed home the winner, which ensured Spal left the Stadio Olimpico Grande with a 2-1 win and all three points.
There was cheering news in La Liga, though, as Samuel Chukwueze played his part in Villarreal’s 1-0 triumph over Getafe.
The Super Eagles star started just his fifth league game of the season as a Moi Gomez strike handed the Yellow Submarines a second consecutive league victory after Javier Calleja’s men pulled off a shocking 1-0 win at Sevilla in midweek.
Chukwueze’s fine performances have seen him being linked with a January switch to Chelsea, but Villarreal’s head coach Calleja has advised him to shun the lures of the Premier League and continue his development at the club.
