Nigerians Abroad: Awoniyi, Azubuike, Ezekiel on target, Mikel stars, Aina stopped Napoli
Taiwo Awoniyi, Okechukwu Azubuike and Imoh Ezekiel were on target, as he did last week, John Obi Mikel was again the star man for Middlesbrough while Ola Aina stopped all attacking Napoli from scoring.
Here is a recap of how Nigerian players feared for their respective European clubs over the weekend.
Simon Moses (Levante)
Super Eagles winger, Simon Moses was on the pitch the entire duration as Levante secured a rare 4-1 away win against Celta Vigo at the Municipal de Balaidos on Saturday.
His mazy and direct runs wreaked havoc on Celta Vigo on the day.
Victor Moses (Fenerbache)
Retired Super Eagles attacker, Victor Moses couldn’t stop his side from playing a 1-1 draw against 10-man Konyaspor in front of their fans.
He was on the pitch for 86 minutes before he was subbed off as the Yellow Canaries failed to make the home and a man advantage count at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Saturday.
Imoh Ezekiel (Kortrijk)
Nigerian striker, Imoh Ezekiel scored his first ever league goal in Kortrijk 1-2 home loss to Victor Osimhen’s Sporting Charleroi in their Belgian top flight game on Saturday.
Imoh Ezekiel who had played 15 league games without a goal, finally found the back of the net in his 16th game as Kortrijk suffered a loss at Guldensporen Stadion.
Imoh Ezekiel was subbed off in the 73rd minutes for Teddy Chevalier.
Mikel Obi (Middlesbrough)
Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel was the star man again as Middlesbrough secure an important away win at Ewood park against Blackburn Rovers.
The win could go along way in determining their chances of making it to the Premier League next season. He was again instrumental to his side’s 1-0 win.
Victor Osimhen (Sporting Charleroi)
Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen failed to find the back of the net on Saturday but his side secured an away 2-1 win against Imoh Ezekiel’s Kortrijk.
The Wolfsburg loanee was on the pitch the entire time as his side ran away with all the points.
William Troost-Ekong (Udinese)
William Troost-Ekong helped Udinese secure 1-0 win against Chievo at Dacia Arena on Sunday. The other of the Nigerian ‘Oyinbo Wall’ was on the pitch the entire duration of the game as Udinese returned to winning way after last week’s 1-0 loss to Torino.
Ola Aina (Torino)
Chelsea loanee, Olaoluwa Aina was on the pitch the entire duration of the game as Torino secure an away goalless draw against attacking Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo.
The former Hull City defender who scored his side’s only goal in their 1-0 win against Udinese last week was again the man for Walter Mazzarri side on Sunday.
‘Lulu’ who was on the pitch the entire duration of the game, picked up a yellow card in the 71st minute of the game but in general, he was rock solid against the all attacking Naples. He kept Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon quite the whole game.
Okechukwu Azubuike, Chidozie Awaziem and Aminu Umar (Rizespor)
Okechukwu Azubuike scored his first ever league goal for Rizespor in their 2-0 away win against Bursaspor in a clash that involved four Nigerian players.
The midfielder scored a beauty to complete his sides away win. Chidozie Awaziem and Aminu Umar were also in action for Rizespor. While the duo of Okechukwu Azubuike and Chidozie Awaziem started and finished the game, Aminu Umar was withdrawn in the 76th minute for Braian Samudio.
Shehu Abdullahi ( Bursaspor)
Shehu Abdullahi was subbed on in the 30th minute for Ramazan Keskin and he remained on the pitch for the entire duration of the game for Bursaspor. But couldn’t stop his side from going down 2-0 at home.
Henry Onyekuru
Henry Onyekuru wasn’t on target but he assisted one of the goals as Galatasaray beat Kasimpasa 4-1 away from home to keep pace with league leaders, Istanbul Basaksehir.
The Everton loanee was on the pitch the entire duration as Galatasaray secure a big away win at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium on Sunday.
Taiwo Awoniyi (Royal Excel Mouscron)
Taiwo Awoniyi scored his 4th goal in his 5th game for Royal Excel Mpuscron since he joined the club in January. His goal ensured Royal Excel Mouscron remained unbeaten in the league since he joined them.
By: Tope Adefala
