SSC Napoli of Italy striker, Victor Osimhen created a major buzz and several talking points on Sunday afternoon in the Italian Serie A, as he got off the bench to add pep into his team’s attack and inspire them to two goals in 20 minutes; but Nigerian soccer fans did not have the pleasure of seeing any Super Eagles’ player net a goal.
Nonetheless, there were heroics from other Nigerian players elsewhere, as Moses Simon hit target in France, Abdulssalam Magashy was on song in Sweden, Paul Ebere Onuachu got a brace in Belgium and Ayo Akinola struck one in America, while Marvin Akinlabi Park got a historic debut for Real Madrid’s main team in the Spanish LaLiga.
Megasportsarena.com repors that Onuachu scored twice to inspire Racing Genk of Belgium to a 3-1 comeback win at home against KV Mechelen, but new Super Eagles’ invitee, Cyriel Dessers started from the bench, in a game that saw the visitors take a shock lead after just six minutes.
Onuachu, who first headed against the bar before hitting the upright, as both sides went into the break at 1-1, drew his team level in the 10th minute, when he headed home a Joakim Maehle cross in his third game of the new Jupiler League campaign.
The brace takes the former FC Midtjylland of Denmark giant up to four goals for the season, one behind the leading trio of Rezaei, Holzhauser and Heymans; while Genk moved up to eighth place on the log with eight points.
In France, Simon opened his goals account for the season in the French Ligue 1 with a sizzler that helped FC Nantes zoom from twp-down to draw 2-2 at home against Saint-Etienne, with the ace winger-cum-striker netting in the 71st minute and Renaud Emond equalized in the 85th.
In USA, Akinola scored his first goal of the 2020 American Major League Soccer (MLS) season, but his effort was only good enough to help Toronto FC eke out a 2-2 draw with DC United at Audi Park.
The 20-year-old Canadian youth international, who was born in the United States to Nigerian parents, had missed the first three games of the season’s return with a hamstring injury, but his side beat Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps in his absence.
With Akinola back in the reverse fixtures against the same opponents, his side lost 1-0 and 3-2 to Impact and the Whitecaps respectively, but they got a 2-1 win in Montreal, only for them to struggle for form on Sunday and settled for a draw with DC United.
In Sweden, Abdulssalam Magashy scored a superb solo goal to inspire Varnamo to a 3-1 win against Skvode AIK, with the former FC Hearts of Enugu midfielder netting the opening goal in the 38th minute, as he hit target for the fourth time this season.
He struck six goals last season, while playing for another Swedish club, Kristianstad, and he has now helped Varnamo move up to 46 points from 18 matches, which takes them 13 points clear of their closest rivals.
In Spain, Akinlabi got his competitive senior debut with Real Madrid on Sunday night, as he went on to replace Rodrygo with 21 minutes remaining in the game away to Real Sociedad, at a point the score remained goalless.
Wearing Los Bancos’ jersey number 28 jersey at Reale Seguros Stadium, Akinlabi entered into the history books as the first Nigerian-born player in history to play competitively for Real’s first team in the process.
The story could have been better just nine minutes after going on, as Akinlabi had a chance to break the deadlock, but he could not get the ball under control and failed to direct the cross from Vinicius Junior, in the game that his side eventually settled for a goalless draw away.
In Turkey, Oghenekaro Etebo got a winning debut for Galatasaray, as the lad on loan from Stoke City of England played for 19 minutes after entering in the 71st minute and helped his side dump Azubuike Okechukwu’s Turkish Super Lig champions, Istanbul Basaksehir 2-0.
In Switzerland, Sebastian Osigwe got his debut with FC Lugano, as the 26-year-old was selected as first choice in goal by the coach, Maurizio Jacobacci for the game at Stadio Cornaredo, and he helped his side to a 2-1 victory on the opening day of the Swiss Super League season.
In England, Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi excelled again in central defence for Leicester City, helping The Foxes to a 4-2 victory over Burnley in one of Sunday’s English Premier League games, with the 23-year-old midfielder deployed alongside Caglar Soyuncu at the heart of the back-four.
Ndidi featured for the duration of the game at King Power Stadium, during which he won four aerial contests, made two tackles and had 69 touches in helping The Foxes secure their second consecutive win of the campaign, but Kelechi Iheanacho, who was not involved in their opening day victory away to West Bromwich Albion, was an unused substitute on Sunday.
Also on Sunday in England, former Arsenal youth team player, Nathan Tella made his EPL home debut for Southampton, but his side fell 5-2 to Tottenham Hotspur, against who the lad, fresh from his first senior game with The Saints against Brentford in the League Cup, entered the game as a substitute in place of Stuart Armstrong midway through the second half.
The winger-cum-playmaker will now hope for better personal impact and satisfactory results for the team, as he appears to stamp his feet in the main squad under the charge of the gaffer, Ralph Hasenhüttl, who has included Tella in every single match-day squad so far this season.
In England’s lower division, English Championship, John Mikel Obi lasted 90 minutes in his first competitive game for Stoke City, but his side suffered a 2-0 home defeat at Bet365 Stadium versus Bristol City on Sunday afternoon.
Mikel held firmly in midfield with his his teammates until the visitors made a breakthrough two minutes into stoppage time when Nakhi Wells put The Robins ahead and The Potters could not get a much-desired equalizer, while their woes worsened when Weimann got Bristol’s second.
In Italy, Osimhen made his competitive debut for Napoli and got off their bench in their 2-0 win away to Parma 2-0 in their first Serie A game of the new season on Sunday afternoon, during which the former VfL Wolfsburg of Germany, Sporting Charleroi of Belgium and Lille Metropole of France striker was the name top of the commentator’s lips till the end of the game.
Although the big-money summer signing from Lille could not hit target after getting off his side’s bench in the 61st minute to replace Diego Demme, the Super Eagles’ rookie was close to the action spot when both goals went in.
Match analysts and commentators gushed over Osimhen’s deft touches, speedy bursts, decoy runs and flashes of intelligence in his first ever Serie A outing since joining his Naples-based side last month, with most observers believing he is on course towards justifying being the club’s biggest ever signing in history.
However, it was Dries Mertens opened scoring for La Partenopei in the 63rd minute after Osimhen miscued a header at goal and Lorenzo Insigne doubled the lead in the 77th minute, when his new teammate ran ahead into the box in anticipation of a pass, only to see the ball drop behind for the onrushing Italian to slap it home.
Nonetheless, the cameras at Parma’s Stadio Ennio Tardini were constantly on Osimhen, from the moment Napoli’s coach, Gennaro Gattuso sent him on just past the hour mark, and it did not take too long for the youngster’s presence to be felt, as his side’s attack burst into life.
He got a slight touch off his head on Lozano’s cross and the ball fell into the path of the club’s all-time top scorer, Mertens, for the opening goal in the 64th minute, after which Napoli then doubled their lead when Insigne tucked in a rebound from a shot palmed away by Parma goalie, Luigi Sepe.
Osimhen had an opportunity to score soon after but his effort from a tight angle rolled so close and yet harmlessly across Parma’s goalmouth, after which the Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup gold medalist and highest goals scorer crossed well for Mertens in the 84th minute, but the Belgian’s shot from outside the box was well handled by Sepe.
The Nigerian whiz-kid earned plaudits from his coach afterwards, as Gattuso told DAZN: “We know Osimhen is an added bonus, but we need to run before we have quality, because quality is not enough on its own. We must set out the team with the right concepts and protect the defence, but we knew that Osimhen could give us another gear in the final 20-25 minutes.
“Osimhen is a lad who, in the 25 days I’ve been working with, I can tell doesn’t forget where he started from, who made sacrifices, lost his family very young and has the head of a 40-year-old on 21-year-old shoulders. I am confident he won’t change, as he has a great attitude and at this moment is a better player than he’s so far shown on the pitch.”
