From England to Spain, Italy to Turkey, Nigerian footballers made their mark across various club competitions on Sunday, February 9, 2025. Here are Soccernet.ng‘s standout moments involving Nigerian stars.
Nigerians in England
The FA Cup dream ended for several Nigerian internationals.
Rofiat Imuran and London City fell 2-0 to Arsenal, while Toni Payne’s Everton suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Women’s FA Cup.
In the men’s competition, Emmamuel Dennis made his competitive debut as Blackburn Rovers exited after a 2-0 home loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
However, Plymouth Argyle’s Mohamed Tijani was part of one of the FA Cup’s biggest modern shocks.
The former Flying Eagles forward came on for the final 18 minutes as the Championship’s bottom club stunned Premier League leaders Liverpool with a dramatic 1-0 victory, securing a historic fifth-round spot.
It was the first time since Wigan’s famous upset against Manchester City in February 2018 that a team from outside the Premier League eliminated the league leaders.
Nigerians in Spain
Christantus Uche featured in the first half of Getafe’s 1-0 away win at Deportivo Alavés.
Umar Sadiq came on as a second-half substitute to help Valencia boost their survival hopes with a 2-0 home win over Leganés.
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Chidera Ejuke’s introduction at halftime could not prevent Sevilla from suffering a heavy 4-1 home defeat to Barcelona.
In the Primera División Femenina, Rinsola Babajide converted a penalty and was named MVP, while Gift Monday netted a late winner as UD Tenerife secured a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over Valencia.
UNTIL THE VERY END Happy to get another goal & MVP +3pts makes it that much sweeter !! Thank you Jesus for giving us this day Happy Sunday! #RB7 pic.twitter.com/ZFxqcjXXHN
— Rinsola Babajide (@rinss98) February 9, 2025
Monday now has 10 league goals—the third-best in the division—while Babajide has seven, reinforcing their status as two of Spain’s top-performing Super Falcons stars.
Italy
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru came off the bench to wrap up Lazio’s emphatic 5-1 Serie A victory over Monza.
The Super Eagles midfielder, on loan from Turkey’s Hatayspor, now has three Serie A goals to his name, adding to his two goals and two assists in the UEFA Europa League group stage.
France
Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was at her brilliant best, making key saves to help Paris FC ease past Dijon 2-0 in the Coupe de France Féminine quarterfinals.
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The Paris FC win sets up a semifinal clash with Le Havre.
In Ligue 1, Nigerian defender Gabriel Osho returned to AJ Auxerre’s starting lineup and played a key role in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Toulouse.
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Switzerland
In the Azerbaijani Premyer Liqa, former Galatasaray forward Jesse Sekidika netted the decisive goal as Sabah came from behind to beat Turan 2-1—their first win of 2025, lifting them to fifth place.
In the Bulgarian First League, Samuel Akere struck his second goal of the season just before halftime to rescue a point for Botev Plovdiv in a 1-1 draw with Hebar 1918.
In the Swiss Super League, Philip Otele scored a late consolation goal for Basel, but his side still fell 2-1 to Servette. It was Otele’s second goal since joining Basel from Al Wahda in January.
Turkey
Victor Osimhen made headlines for Galatasaray, but not for scoring.
Instead, he allowed new signing Álvaro Morata to take and convert an early controversial penalty against Adana Demirspor in the Super Lig.
WE MOVE. pic.twitter.com/dq70nf7plb
— Galatasaray EN (@Galatasaray) February 9, 2025
The match descended into chaos as Adana Demirspor walked off the pitch, protesting unfair officiating, leading to an abandoned game.
At Fenerbahçe, Bright Osayi-Samuel came off the bench as José Mourinho’s side cruised to a 2-0 win at Alanyaspor.
His appearance put to rest speculation that he had not been registered for the second half of the season amid his contract dispute.
Meanwhile, in Turkish Lig 1, Chukwuma Akabueze provided an assist for Şanlıurfaspor’s second goal in a 3-2 away loss to Bandırmaspor.
