It has been a day of mixed results for Nigerian stars. League action in most parts of Europe is slowly reaching a halt, and many Nigerian players are still looking to grind out results for their teams.
In Italy, it was a good day in the office for Destiny Udogie and Issac Success. Success assisted Udogie’s first-half equalizer for Udinese against Bologna. Success then gave his side the lead in the second half after he placed a superb shot behind Francesco Bardi in the Bologna goal.
However, Nicola Sansone’s 59th-minute goal ensured that Udinese and Bologna shared the spoils at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
Meanwhile, it was a disaster for Alex Iwobi and his Everton side, as they fell to a painful 2-0 defeat at Liverpool. The toffees looked like they would get one over their Merseyside rivals after a brilliant first-half performance.
Unfortunately, goals from Andrew Robertson and Divock Origi ensured a 2-0 victory for Liverpool and further reduced Everton’s hopes of staying afloat in the Premier League.
Iwobi played the entire game, but he was not given space to conjure anything for the toffees. The Super Eagles midfielder had 34 touches and won three of his seven duels.
Everton sit 18th, two points behind Burnley, although they have played a game less.
In Belgium, it was a poor start to the Jupiler League playoffs for Alhassan Yusuf’s Antwerp, as they suffered a 1-0 loss at Club Brugge.
Club Brugge took the lead in the 37th minute through Tajon Buchanan, and that was enough to seal the victory for the home side.
Yusuf had a decent performance in the middle of the park. He had 54 touches, had three tackles, and won six of his twelve duels.
Antwerp welcomes Royale Union SG next week for a chance to pick up their first playoff points.
In the Danish Superliga, Tosin Kehinde and Stephen Odey were on the winning side as Randers went away to pick a shock victory at FC Copenhagen.
Amoo was missing from the Copenhagen squad due to injury, while Paul Mukairu was introduced as a second-half substitute.
Randers took the lead in the 59th minute through Jakob Ankersen, and that was enough to seal the three points. Kehinde and Odey saw 88 minutes of action.
