Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong grabbed his first goal in the Saudi Pro League as Al Kholood stumbled to a 4-2 home defeat against Al Hilal on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.
It was always going to be difficult for Al Kholood against Al Hilal, with the reigning champions having won all their first four league games.
The visitors did not disappoint as they scored four goals in ten minutes, leaving Al Kholood with an impossible mountain to climb.
The home team rallied briefly at the end, though, with Hammam Al Hammami finding the net in the 71st minute.
Nigeria international Troost-Ekong then made the scoreline look even more respectable when he converted expertly from the penalty spot three minutes from time.
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In the German Bundesliga, Oladapo Afolayan was on target as St Pauli secured a stunning 3-0 win at SC Freiburg.
After losing their first three league games of the season, St Pauli claimed a precious point in their impressive goalless draw with RB Leipzig last week and the newly-promoted side followed it up with an excellent result at the Europa-Park Stadion.
Tunisian striker Elias Saad scored a brace that sandwiched Afolayan’s 45th-minute strike for the visitors.
After the encounter, Afolayan shared his thoughts in a chat with St Pauli’s website: “I enjoy every game I’m on the pitch in. It’s hard work and believing in yourself.
“That applies to all the guys who have come in over the past few weeks. I’m not just thinking of myself, but also of Carlo, Manos, and Elias. Each of us wanted to show that we have the quality. Elias played really well again. We both worked hard defensively to be there in the transition moments.
“We know that we have the ability to cause other teams problems with that. We were unlucky against Leipzig. We knew that we had to put in a performance like that again. Today we scored the chances.”
Over to England, where Josh Maja scored his seventh league goal of the campaign as West Brom stumbled to a 3-2 Championship loss at Sheffield Wednesday.
It was the Baggies’ first defeat of the season but they remain top of the division with a point better than their closest challengers – Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers.
At the Vicarage Road, Tom Dele-Bashiru converted an 84th-minute penalty that powered Watford to a fine 2-1 win over Sunderland.
