The Super Eagles striker needed only nine minutes to score his 25th league goal of the campaign in Belgium
Ten-man Cercle Brugge fell to a 2-0 defeat away to Racing Genk, with the home side profiting off early goals from Paul Onuachu and Junya Ito.
Onuachu pounced on a Theo Bongonda assist in the ninth minute to give KRC Genk the lead in the First Division A clash against Cercle Brugge at the Luminus Arena.
It is the forward’s 25th league strike of the current campaign and his 26th in all competitions, making him the most prolific Nigerian star in Europe this term.
Japanese star Ito doubled the hosts’ advantage midway through the first period before Hannes van der Bruggen was sent off for the visitors just before the break after picking two yellow cards in 12 minutes.
There would be no further goals after the interval, but Onuachu, who was replaced by compatriot Cyriel Dessers in the 66th minute, had done enough to earn the maximum points for his side.
The 26-year-old is the most prolific Nigerian in Europe by a country mile, far outshining the likes of Crotone’s Simy Nwankwo (ten Serie A goals), Lorient’s Terem Moffi (nine Ligue 1 goals), Napoli’s Victor Osimhen (three Serie A goals), and Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho (three Premier League goals).
It would be difficult for Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr to ignore Onuachu when picking the Nigerian team to face the Benin Republic and Lesotho later in March.
