Nigerian international Joe Aribo was the super sub on Thursday as he came off the bench to inspire the Light-Blues to a remarkable 3-2 win over Braga after the Gers trailed by a two-goal deficit for much of the encounter.
An excellent Aribo strike and a brace from Ianis Hagi – son of the Romania great, Gheorghe Hagi – helped Steven Gerrard’s men battle from two goals down to claim victory in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 32 clash against the Portuguese side.
Fransergio and Abel Ruiz handed the visitors the advantage as they headed towards a crucial away triumph, but the game changed with the introduction of Aribo just before the hour-mark.
Minutes later, Hagi scored the first of his brace to half the deficit before the Super Eagles star netted the equalizer 15 minutes from time. The Romanian winger then grabbed the winning goal with less than ten minutes left to play.
In Greece, Bukayo Saka continued his impressive European displays by providing the assist to Alexandre Lacazette’s winner as Arsenal dispatched their hosts Olympiacos 1-0.
The 18-year-old, who started yet again as a fullback, now has two goals and five assists in the Europa League this term.
At the Ludogorets Arena, Victor Moses was handed his European debut by Inter Milan, and he did his bit to help Antonio Conte’s men earn a fine 2-0 win over their Bulgarian hosts.
Ludogorets started brightly in front of their vociferous fans, but second-half goals from Christian Eriksen and Romelu Lukaku gave the Italians a comfortable victory ahead of the return leg in a fortnight.
