A host of Super Eagles stars were in action for their clubs on Saturday, but only a few had a reason to smile at the end.
In Scotland, Joe Aribo scored his first goal since December as Rangers moved to the next round of the Scottish Cup with a comprehensive 4-1 victory at Hamilton Academical.
Scott Arfield put the Gers ahead in the 25th minute, but Hamilton drew level thirteen minutes later through a Lewis Smith strike.
However, Joe Aribo restored Rangers lead in the 68th minute before further goals from Alfredo Morelos (85), and Scott Arfield’s second (90) secured a comprehensive win for Steven Gerrard’s men.
It was Aribo’s seventh goal in 39 appearances for Rangers this season. The former Charlton man was not the only Super Eagles star on target as Moses Simon was also on the scorers’ sheet in Nantes thrilling draw against Dijon.
The 24-year old scored for the second game running after scoring in the Canaries loss to PSG on Wednesday. But despite scoring last night, he could not play the whole encounter as he had to be taken off due to an injury.
In England, Alex Iwobi was on the bench for the whole 90 minutes in Everton’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace. The Super Eagles star who made his return from an injury layoff last week could only watch from the bench as the Toffees eased past the Eagles.
Bernard opened the scoring for Everton in 18th minute, but Christian Benteke levelled the scores for Crystal Palace six minutes into the second half.
However, late strikes from Richarlison and Calvert Lewins secured the maximum points for Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
Meanwhile, in Italy, Ola Aina was in action for 75 minutes, but he could not prevent Torino from going down to a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Sampdoria.
Simone Verdi opened the scoring for the home side in the 55th minute, but a Gaston Ramirez brace and a Fabio Quagliarella penalty turned the tie around for Claudio Ranieri’s men.
Aina was replaced by Cristian Ansaldi in the 75th minute of the encounter with the scores reading 2-1 as at that time.
In Spain, Samuel Chukwueze was a 72nd-minute substitute in Villarreal’s 1-1 draw at Real Valladolid. Ruben Alcaraz put the home side ahead in the 15th minute, but Gerad Moreno’s strike ensured the points were shared.
Also in Spain, Oghenekaro Etebo was missing in Getafe’s superb win over Valencia. The Super Eagles star has only featured three times for the Azulones since he joined from Stoke City last month.
