The Nigerian forward has put behind him the disappointment of not moving to the Premier League in the summer and is on track to wreak as much havoc as he did last season
Paul Onuachu netted a brace, but it was not enough to help Genk avoid a 4-2 defeat at Antwerp.
Onuachu’s first goal of the night, his fourth in as many matches, opened the scoring for the Smurfs against high-flying Antwerp inside the Bosuilstadion.
The 27-year-old striker turned home a pass from Japanese playmaker Junya Ito to put the visitors ahead in the 13th minute of their Belgian First Division A matchday five clash with Antwerp.
Onuachu appeared destined to move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs after a record-breaking year when he scored 34 goals in 35 games.
But the former FC Midtjylland ace could not complete a dream move to the Premier League despite being severally linked with West Ham United and Arsenal.
His disappointment was evident as he struggled to come to terms with spending another year in Belgium.
The Super Eagles attacker was a shadow of his old self as he failed to find the back of the net in Genk’s first two games of the season, including the 3-2 Super Cup defeat to league champion Club Brugge.
Onuachu even asked to be excused from the league meeting with KV Oostende, a match the Smurfs lost 3-4 at home.
But the tall striker returned looking rejuvenated as he scored in the 1-2 home defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League, and he has not looked back ever since.
Onuachu netted the equaliser at Kortrijk before Daniel Muñoz Mejía scored a stoppage-time winner for Genk’s first league win of the season in early August. He then found the back of the net in the 4-0 demolition of OH Leuven seven days later.
But it is after the last international break that Onuachu fully came into his element.
He claimed Genk’s solitary strike in the 1-1 draw to Union Saint-Gilloise, netted a stoppage-time winner away to Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, before smashing home another later winner in the 2-1 defeat of Sint Truiden at the weekend.
And his 13th-minute cleverly executed finish at Antwerp made it the fourth consecutive game he has found the net for Racing.
The home side recovered quickly from that setback, though, raining three goals past Genk before halftime and netting another after the break.
Onuachu converted a penalty in the 80th-minute for his second of the night, but the visitors couldn’t muster a comeback despite Antwerp playing the last six minutes with ten men following defender Ritchie De Laet’s dismissal.
And there was no denying who the better team on the night was as Antwerp ran away with a 4-2 win.
