Lille and Club Brugge are out of the group stages of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League, but their Nigerian stars would look to finish their European adventure on a positive note.
Victor Osimhen scored two goals in five games for French side Lille, but Les Dogues found the going tough against Chelsea, Ajax and Valencia.
No matter the heroics of the Super Eagles forward when Lille take on Chelsea on Tuesday night, Christophe Galtier’s men will still end their campaign at the foot of Group H.
In Group A, Emmanuel Dennis was the hero – bagging a brace – when Club Brugge managed an impressive draw at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier on in the season, but it has not turned out well for the Nigerian and his club since.
The Belgians host Los Blancos on Wednesday needing to better Galatasaray’s result to seal third place and pick the Europa League ticket. PSG and Real Madrid are guaranteed the top two spots in this group.
It would then rest on the shoulders and boots of the Nigerian duo of David Okereke and Emmanuel Dennis to get the goals to help the Belgians cause.
And what a way it would be to say their final goodbye to Europe’s premier club competition with a few goals against the continent’s most successful club.
Group F started stunningly back in September as Super Eagles forward Peter Olayinka scored in the 63rd-minute to inspire Slavia Prague to a fine 1-1 draw away to Inter Milan on matchday one. They also managed to pick up a point against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, but that was as good as it gets for the Czech champions.
Despite dominating Czech football, Slavia have lost three of their other four Champions League matches since and are now set to finish bottom of an admittedly tough group.
Placed alongside powerhouses such as Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan, Slavia would have pulled the extraordinary to qualify past any of these former champions.
Left with nothing else to lose, Slavia should unleash their Nigerian nightmare on Dortmund on Tuesday night – an opponent that cut them to size with a 2-0 win in Prague on matchday two.
