How Nigerian players fared in Europe last weekend

It was another eventful weekend for Nigerian players across the European Leagues as some were in the limelight for their sterling performances.

It was however not the same for some others who were not considered good enough for action for varying reasons.

PREMIUM TIMES again takes you on a voyage around the Leagues across Europe to give you a scorecard on the performances of Nigerian players

England

It was another sweet weekend for Victor Moses and his Chelsea teammates as they recorded their eighth win on the bounce, beating Manchester City 1-3 and thus retaining their number one position on the EPL standings.

Moses was in the thick of action as usual, putting up a credible display and he lasted the entirety of the game played at the Etihad Stadium

It was however same awry story for his compatriot, John Obi Mikel, who has been continually overlooked by Coach Antonio.

In the same game, Kelechi Iheanacho started from the bench in the 78th minute when City were down, but could not do anything to get them back into the game.

At the Olympic  Stadium, Arsenal were 5-1 winners over West Ham but it appears Alex Iwobi has lost his place in the starting lineup as he was only introduced in the 88th minute and had very little or no time to make an impact. Meanwhile, Chuba Akpom was not listed.

Though Victor Anichebe could not add to his goals tally for Sunderland, he ended on the winning side as they beat Ahmed Musa’s Leicester City 2-1.

Anichebe played all 90 minutes while Musa was introduced in the 73rd minute but couldn’t help the Foxes get even a solitary point from the Stadium of Light.

At the Hawthorns, West Brom beat Watford 3-1 with Odion Ighalo coming off the bench in the 77th minute but fired blanks, while Isaac Success returned from injury but was on the bench all through.

And in the Championship, Carl Ikeme returned to action for Wolves, but lasted only 83 minutes as he was taken off after an injury scare in the 2-1 win over QPR.

At the Craven Cottage Stadium, in-form Sone Aluko scored one as Fulham hit the hapless Reading 5-0. He was taken off in the 76th minute though.

Spain

Uche Agbo and his Granada side finally got their bearing as they secured their first win of the season, beating Sevilla 2-1 with the former Nigeria youth international playing for 77 minutes.

Italy

In Serie A, Joel Obi was missing in action for Torino owing to another injury setback and his team were beaten 2-0 by Sampdoria.

France

Vincent Enyeama was in goal as usual for Lille and kept a clean sheet as they beat Bordeaux 1-0 away from home and put in an impressive display to stop the hosts.

Germany

Mainz suffered a 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich despite scoring first, with Leon Balogun playing all through and his mistake that led to the free kick that earned Bayern’s third goal late in the game.

It was a similar story for Obinna Nsofor, whose Darmstadt were beaten 2-0 at home by Hamburger SV. However, the Nigeria international did not make it out of the bench.

Holland

Former Super Eagles striker, Bartholomew Ogbeche, was unused in Willem II’s 0-0 draw at home to Twente.

Abduljeleel Ajagun was on from start to finish for Roda JC but could not find the back of the net as they held the Dutch champions PSV to a goalless draw.

Elsewhere, Super Eagles invitee, Tyrone Ebuehi, played all through for Ado Den Haag but could not prevent them from going down 2-0 at home to Utrecht.

Belgium

Leicester City target Wilfried Ndidi played the entire duration for Genk, as they succumbed to a 2-1 home defeat to Lokeren despite taking the early lead.

Super Eagles left back, Elderson Echiejile, was not listed for Standard Liege in their 3-1 win over Charleroi. Still in the Jupiler League, winger Moses Simon only enjoyed a cameo, coming on in the 86th minute for Gent as they drew 0-0 with Westerlo.

Meanwhile, the other Nigerians at the club – Anderson Esiti and Rabiu Ibrahim – were not listed.

Greece

Super Eagles striker, Brown Ideye, found the back of the net twice for Olympiacos as they thrashed Levadiakos 4-0 to remain the top scorer in Greece with nine goals.

Turkey

Former Dolphins striker, Emem Eduok, found the back of the net for Kasimpasa but it was not enough as they lost 2-1 to Galatasaray. He was replaced in the 67th minute. Meanwhile, former junior international, Aminu Umar, was an 85th minute substitute in Osmanlispor’s 2-1 home win over Kardemir Karabuk.

Kenneth Omeruo played all through for Alanyaspor but his contributions weren’t enough to prevent them going down 2-3 at home to Konyaspor. He however avoided getting into the referees’ book.

Former Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Emenike was not listed for Fenerbahce in their goalless draw with Besiktas.