Europa League: Tella breaks the duck at Bayer Leverkusen; Ogbu strikes again for Slavia Prague

Europa League action continued on Thursday, and some Nigerian players were on duty for their clubs

Nigerian forward Nathan Tella scored his first goal for Bayer Leverkusen in their 2-1 victory over Molde in their second Europa League game on Thursday, Soccernet reports.

Die Werkself have been outstanding this season, drawing just one game and winning the rest. Tella has been used sparingly as he has been adjusting to life in Germany.

On Thursday, he got a rare start for Bayer Leverkusen, and he took advantage of it. Jeremie Frimpong scored the opener for Die Werkself in the 14th minute.

Then Tella’s moment came in the 18th minute. He was played through on goal by Adam Hlozek, and then he placed a wicked shot past Jacob Karlstrom in the Molde goal to make it 2-0.

Tella was taken off for Jonas Hofmann, while Victor Boniface was brought on for Hlozek in the 83rd minute. Emil Breivik scored the consolation for Molde in the 87th minute to complete the scoring.

Meanwhile, in Czech Republic, Igoh Ogbu scored for Slavia Prague in their 6-0 bashing of Sheriff Tiraspol. Ogbu has fast become a stalwart in the Slavia Prague defence and he continues to prove his importance.

After Mojmi Chytil scored the opener for the Czech giants in the 4th minute, Ogbu got on the end of a free-kick and sent a header into the visitors’ net. Goals from Munashe Gurananga(OG), Ivan Schranz, David Doudera, and Chytil completed the 6-0 rout.

In the Conference League, no Nigerian player scored, but a few of them were in action. Gift Orban got 86 minutes of action in Gent’s 2-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Super Eagles striker has now been without a goal since the 28th of August. Jordan Torunarigha missed the game because of an injury.

Meanwhile, Bright Osayi-Samuel played all 90 minutes of action in Fenerbahce’s 2-1 victory over Trnava at the City Arena Trnava. The Super Eagles defender registered three tackles, won seven of his eight duels and had an impressive 95.8% pass accuracy.

In Greece, Super Eagles defender William Troost-Ekong put in a great shift for PAOK in their 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. The 30-year-old had six clearances, three interceptions, and three tackles. He also won five of his six duels.