Nigerian footballers experienced contrasting fortunes across Europe, with Alex Iwobi and Rafiu Durosinmi finding the net, while goalkeepers Maduka Okoye and Chiamaka Nnadozie suffered defeats with their respective teams.
Tochukwu Nnadi also delivered an encouraging performance for Marseille, registering his first assist of the season as several Nigerian stars featured for their clubs over the weekend.
Okoye helpless despite eight saves
Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye endured a difficult afternoon as Udinese suffered a 3-0 defeat to Lecce in the Italian Serie A.
Despite making eight saves, the Nigerian could not prevent his side from extending their losing run to five consecutive league matches.
Kialonda Gaspar opened the scoring for Lecce in the 11th minute before Konan N’Dri doubled the advantage in the 33rd minute. Jamil Siebert completed the victory late in the game.
Okoye, however, produced several important stops and earned a rating of 7.0 from FotMob, the highest among Udinese players.
Nnadozie suffers defeat against Manchester City
Nigeria’s first-choice women’s goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, also had a challenging weekend as Brighton Women lost 3-2 away to Manchester City in the Women’s Super League.
City raced into a three-goal lead through Khadija Shaw, who scored twice, and Niamh Charles.
Brighton responded with goals from Olivia Garcia and Caitlin Hayes before half-time, but the hosts held on to preserve their perfect start to the league season.
Durosinmi continues scoring form
Rafiu Durosinmi maintained his impressive start to life at Genk, scoring in their 2-0 Belgian Cup victory over Virton.
The Nigerian striker doubled his team’s lead in the 28th minute, finishing a through-ball from Junya Ito to take his tally to seven goals for the season.
Durosinmi joined Genk from Italian side Pisa in July and has quickly become an important attacking option for the Belgian club.
Nnadi records first assist for Marseille
Tochukwu Nnadi made his first start of the season for Marseille and marked the occasion with an assist in their emphatic 5-2 win over Angers.
The midfielder won possession in the middle of the pitch before threading a pass through to Amine Harit, who curled home Marseille’s fourth goal in the 83rd minute.
It was Nnadi’s first assist of the campaign and his first since April.
Iwobi ends Fulham’s wait for a win
Alex Iwobi scored the decisive goal as Fulham defeated Hull City 1-0 at Craven Cottage, securing their first victory of the Premier League season.
The Nigerian midfielder struck in the 33rd minute after Hull failed to clear their lines, with his low effort taking a deflection before beating goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Iwobi’s goal also marked the first league victory under Fulham manager Álvaro Arbeloa.
Meanwhile, fellow Nigerian Calvin Bassey captained Fulham and played the full match, while Super Eagles defender Semi Ajayi completed the game for Hull.
Akor Adams delivers for Venezia
Akor Adams ended a four-match scoring drought by netting the only goal in Venezia’s 1-0 victory over Napoli.
The Nigerian forward scored four minutes into the second half after running on to Simon Sohm’s long pass and getting his shot past goalkeeper Alex Meret following a deflection.
The result handed Venezia their first win of the season and marked a positive start for new manager Davide Nicola.
Osimhen’s remarkable run comes to an end
Victor Osimhen failed to score or provide an assist as Galatasaray secured a narrow 1-0 victory away to Gençlerbirliği.
The striker had seven attempts at goal but could not find the net, bringing an end to his run of scoring or assisting in 18 consecutive league matches.
During that impressive spell, Osimhen recorded 18 goals and eight assists.
Despite his quiet outing, Galatasaray claimed all three points after a late own goal by the opposition goalkeeper.
Other Nigerian players also featured across Europe, including Samuel Chukwueze for AC Milan, Ademola Lookman for Atlético Madrid and several forwards in Germany, France and Turkey.
The weekend once again highlighted the contrasting fortunes of Nigerian players abroad, with some strengthening their reputations through goals and assists while others faced difficult results with their clubs.
