Ahmed Musa netted the winning strike on his debut to help Fatih Karagumruk to a 3-2 win over ten-man Gaziantep FK in a matchday 1 Super Lig tie.
The Super Eagles captain only moved to the Turkish side a few weeks ago and didn’t participate in any of their pre-season games.
But a player of his quality could not be kept on the bench as manager Francesco Farioli named him in the starting eleven at the Vefa Stadium.
Former Chelsea signing Papy Djilobodji scored an early own goal before Angelo Sagal – who was later dismissed in first-half stoppage time – scored from the penalty spot for the visitors to restore parity.
Shortly after, Aleksandar Pesic made it 2-1 for the home side, all within the first 20 minutes of the encounter.
A very cagey second half, however, burst into life in the closing stages when Ahmed Musa found the back of the net with a fine finish in the 90th minute for Karagumruk’s third of the game.
It proved to be crucial, though, as Papy Djilobodji made amends for his earlier error by making it 3-2 deep into stoppage time.
That late strike could not deny Karagumruk the three points at stake and Musa the dream debut in the Turkish Super Lig.
In Germany, Super Eagles defender Kevin Akpoguma featured for 73 minutes as Hoffenheim began their new Bundesliga campaign with an excellent 4-0 thrashing of Augsburg at the WWK Arena.
Compatriot Sarenren Bazee came on as an 81st-minute substitute for Augsburg, with the visitors already leading by two goals.
But the Nigerian forward could do little to help the home side avoid conceding two late goals and an embarrassing opening day defeat.
There’s a new Nigerian star to follow in Germany as Dickson Abiama celebrated making his Bundesliga debut with a fine assist in Greuther Fürth’s 5-1 loss at Stuttgart.
The 22-year-old forward scored seven goals in 29 league games to help Greuther Fürth secure promotion from the 2.Bundesliga last term.
But Stuttgart had raced to a 3-0 lead before Abiama was introduced from the bench in the 59th minute, and the home side added two more before the Nigerian youngster supplied the assist for Jamie Leweling’s late consolation strike.
