SAN FRANCISCO, November 02, (THEWILL) – It was a forgettable weekend for some players in the Super Eagles squad as their European clubs were at the wrong end of final results from their games. In the fixtures monitored by THEWILL, only Kenneth Omeruo’s Segunda División side Leganes claimed victory, though it was bittersweet as he had to be taken off early in the second period due to injury.
THEWILL presents a round up of how some Nigerian players fared at their European sides during a weekend of football matches.
In a late Saturday tie, Nantes hosted French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1. Moses Simon, Super Eagles winger, was substituted after just 25 minutes due to a groin injury sustained during the game.
Before that, in arguably the miss of the season, the Nigerian mis-kicked what should have been a simple tap-in into an open goal after brilliant work down the right by team-mate French centre forward Kolo Muani in the 15th minute.
Kader Bamba, the French right winger who was introduced in Simon’s place missed a penalty in the 70th minute that could have reduced the 2-0 score gap at the time. He placed it to the left at a good height for PSG goalie Keylor Navas who palmed it away with both hands.
The game ended 3-0 in PSG’s favour.
In the English Premier League on Sunday, Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo was neither given a start nor included on the bench for Manchester United as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s late second-half penalty gave Arsenal their first Premier League victory against the Red Devils at Old Trafford in 14 years.
Gabonese striker Aubameyang ended a run of five games without a goal by sending David de Gea the wrong way in the 69th minute after Paul Pogba brought down Hector Bellerin in the box.
It was also a miserable outing for winger Alex Iwobi and his Everton teammates. They suffered an away loss at St. James’ Park to Newcastle United. In the 2-1 loss, Iwobi was introduced in the 77th minute of the game and he was on the pitch when Callum Wilson turned in a deflected shot for his second goal in the 84th minute.
Iwobi’s own deflected shot was netted by Everton’s on form English striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin just after 90 minutes, but it was too little too late to make a difference.
In Serie A, Napoli striker Victor Osimhen was wasteful as Sassuolo defeated Napoli 2-0 in Naples. To be fair, Osimhen was denied a penalty that would have levelled the scores and perhaps changed the tenor of the game. The referee did not give it and the visitors went ahead to score a vital second goal that sealed the contest.
With the defeat Napoli dropped to fifth on the Serie A log, with Sassuolo second and Juventus, who beat Spezia 4-1 on the day of the return of their talented goal-poacher Cristiano Ronaldo, are third.
In the second tier of Spanish football, the Segunda División, Leganes defender Omeruo was substituted due to injury for Leganes in the 48th minute in a home fixture against Mirandés.
In the one match where a Nigerian player recorded a win with his club, Omeruo limped out of the pitch and was replaced by Roberto Rosales. A minute after, Jose Arnaiz netted the winning goal for the hosts. The 27-year-old Nigerian defender has made seven league appearances for Leganes this season.
THEWILL hopes he and Moses Simon can return quickly to fitness.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
