•Moses opens Nantes account for the new season; Emegha also scores
Just before the first international break, Moses Simon opened his first goal of the season in France, while Nigerian players continue to impress abroad. ABIODUN ADEWALE reports
SUNDAY
FRANCE
MOSES SIMON (NANTES)
Nantes celebrated their first win of the season and ended an unwanted Ligue 1 record of nine consecutive home defeats with a 2-0 victory over Auxerre at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Simon opened the scoring for the Canaries in the 14th minute, while Frenchman Bahereba Guirassy scored the second goal in second-half stoppage time.
Simon’s storming run down the left ended with his fierce shot slipping through the fingers of Donovan Léon. That goal seemed to help Nantes gain momentum and it looked like they could have scored a second goal shortly after.
For a Nantes side coming off a disappointing 2023/24 season, last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Toulouse must have raised fears among fans that the season could drag on again.
EMMANUEL EMEGHA (STRASBOURG)
Dutch player of Nigerian descent Emegha scored as Strasbourg Alsace recorded their first win of the Ligue 1 season with a 3-1 victory over Stade Rennais at the Stade de la Meinau, making it three consecutive games unbeaten for the first time since 1999.
After Andre Santos’ opener, Emegha doubled the lead after the break before being substituted in the 66th minute. The 21-year-old got on the scoresheet when he picked up a loose ball in the box following a free kick and instinctively fired into the near corner.
ENGLAND
Frank ONYEKA (BRENTFORD)
For the second consecutive game of the new season, Onyeka was still missing out on a place in Brentford’s starting eleven.
The Nigerian midfielder was on the bench for the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, coming on for Vitaly Janelt with 18 minutes to go and the score at 2-0.
BELGIUM
RAPHAEL ONYEDIKA (CLUB BRUGGE)
Midfielder Onyedika made his fourth league appearance of the season as Belgian First Division A champions Club Brugge beat Dender 2-1 away from home. He received a 7.3 rating from Flashscore for his 90-minute performance. Onyedika was a key figure in their triumph last season, scoring three crucial goals and an assist in their title run.
CYPRUS
FRANCIS UZOHO (OMONIA)
After being used as Super Eagles’ backup goalkeeper Uzoho for the remainder of last season, he returned to the bench at Omonia following the return of Brazilian goalkeeper Fabiano Freitas from injury.
The 25-year-old was a substitute on the bench in the 2-0 win against Achnas in the first game of the season, but was not used.
Uzoho played ten times for the club last season, while Freitas was out due to injury.
DENMARK
STEPHEN ODEY (RANDERS)
Stephen Odey started on the bench for the first time this season and played just 27 minutes in the 2-2 draw against Brondby.
The former MFM striker, who started the last five games, scored four goals and provided two assists in 34 games last season.
TURKEY
KENNETH OMERUO (KASIMPASA)
Super Eagles defender Omeruo only came on in the closing stages of Kasimpasa’s 2-2 draw with Adana Demirspor.
He played just one minute after substituting Haris Hajradinovic in injury time.
In three games this season, the former Chelsea defender has drastically reduced his playing time, starting just one. He played the entire duration of the 3-2 home defeat on Matchday 1 of the season and was subsequently benched. He played just nine minutes in the 1-1 draw with Hatayaspor last week.
SATURDAY
ENGLAND
IWOBI, BASSEY (FULHAM)
Of the three Nigerians who played at Craven Cottage on Saturday, Alex Iwobi stood out, scoring from the double to lead Fulham to a 2-1 victory over Wilfred Ndidi’s Leicester City.
For the second Premier League game in a row, Iwobi started for Fulham alongside his Super Eagles teammate Calvin Bassey.
Fulham, fresh from a narrow opening loss at Manchester United, took the lead with a beautiful goal from former Arsenal player Emile Smith Rowe in the 18th minute.
Leicester City equalised just before half-time through defender Wout Faes before Iwobi stole the show midway through the second half.
The Nigerian playmaker raced towards goal after a pass from Antonee Robinson and fired the ball with his left foot through the legs of Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
The goal was Iwobi’s first of the season and the 23rd Premier League goal of his career, making him the ninth-highest Nigerian goalscorer in the competition’s history.
WILFRED NDIDI (LEICESTER)
Wearing his new shirt number (6) highlighting his role at Leicester City, Ndidi kept his place in the Foxes’ defensive midfield but could not do enough to save them from a 2-1 defeat.
Defender Wout Faes had equalised Emile Smith Rowe’s opener for Fulham, but the Foxes were undone by another Nigerian, Alex Iwobi, who charged towards goal after a pass from Antonee Robinson and fired the ball through the legs of Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen with his left foot.
JOE ARIBO (SOUTHAMPTON)
Aribo started for Southampton for the second consecutive season on their return to the Premier League, but the Nigerian midfielder could not prevent the Saints from losing 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest, where three other Nigerians played. Aribo played 76 minutes, six minutes more than last week.
AWONIYI, AINA, DENNIS (WALD)
Just like last week, Taiwo Awoniyi came on as a second-half substitute as Nottingham Forest beat Southampton 1-0 at St. Mary’s Stadium, the team’s first win of the season.
Morgan Gibbs White scored the Tricky Trees’ only goal in the 70th minute and the Nigerian striker came on for Chris Wood six minutes later. His Super Eagles teammate and defender Ola Aina was on the pitch for the entire duration of the match, while Emmanuel Dennis was not on the list for the game.
MAJA, AJAYI (WEST BROM)
Striker Josh Maja is fit again and scoring goals for West Brom. He scored his fourth goal of the season in the 2-1 away win at Stoke City, scoring the decisive goal in the 31st minute in an early scoring streak.
Maja started the season at full throttle, scoring a hat-trick in the 3-1 win over QPR, while fellow countryman Semi Ajayi was also solid in defence.
ITALY
MADUKA OKOYE (UDINESE)
Okoye, who had just made it into the Serie A team of the week last week, was on the winning side as Udinese celebrated a 2-1 victory over Lazio.
The goalkeeper had to save 18 shots during the game and was close to keeping another clean sheet until he was beaten by Gustav Isaksen in injury time.
Thanks to Okoye, Udinese secured their first win of the Serie A season and continued their impressive run of unbeaten matches in the league.
The club’s last extended winning streak lasted from August 20, 2022 to October 16, 2022 and included nine games.
FISAYO DELE-BASHIRU (LAZIO)
Dele-Bashiru played 60 minutes as Lazio suffered a 2-1 defeat at Udinese.
The Nigerian midfielder has impressed since joining on loan from Turkey’s Hatayaspor in the summer, playing the full game in last week’s 3-1 win over Venezia.
SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE (AC MILAN)
Elsewhere in Italy, it was another disappointing day for Chukwueze and AC Milan, who suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat at Parma.
The Nigerian winger was taken out of the starting line-up and came on in the 86th minute for Christian Pulisic, who scored Milan’s only goal of the match.
SIMY NWANKWO (SALERNITANA)
At the Stadio Marco Druso in Bolzano, Nwankwo provided the assist for Salernitana’s goal, but that was not enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat in South Tyrol.
EBENEZER AKINSAMIRO (SAMPDORIA)
The day did not end well for Akinsanmiro and Sampdoria either, as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Reggiana in their first Serie B home game of the season.
The Remo Stars product, who is on loan from Inter Milan, has impressed in Serie B. He played 84 minutes in the first game, a 2-2 draw against Frosinone, and also played 64 minutes on Saturday.
TURKEY
OGHENEKARO ETEBO (GENÇLERBIRLIĞI)
Etebo was at his best when he played for Gençlerbirliği in a goalless draw at Iğdır FK on Saturday night.
After completing the entire 2023/24 season without making a competitive appearance following the expiration of his loan contract with Greek club Aris, Etebo moved to Gençlerbirliği on a free transfer this summer.
The midfielder was one of Gençlerbirliği’s better players on Saturday, completing 91 percent of his passes, making three tackles, winning 100 percent of his running duels and losing the ball only three times.
The 28-year-old Super Eagles star will be looking to help Gençlerbirliği achieve their first maximum points in their next away match against Esenler Erokspor.
