Nigeria football stars started off the New Year on a shaky note after the Yuletide celebration. Here, ANTHONY NLEBEM takes a look at how the Super Eagles players performed for their respective clubs.
Saudi Arabia
Odion Ighalo (Al Hilal)
Ighalo opened scoring for his side Al Hilal who held Damac to a 2-2 draw in a Saudi Arabia Pro League game on Saturday at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium.
The 33-year-old put the Royals ahead in the 38th minute, finishing off a delightful cross from Salem.
Luciano Vietto doubled the lead for Al Hilal when he latched onto a through-ball from Mohamed Kanno before firing his shot past Zeghba.
Despite going 2-0 down, Damac halved the deficit in the 75th minute after Abdulelah Al-Shammeri scored.
Abdulaziz Al-Shahrani ensured spoils were shared when he struck to silence the home crowd in the 89th minute when
The Nigerian striker who was booked in the 45th minute for a clumsy challenge played for 69 minutes and was replaced by Saleh Al Shehri.
Ighalo has now scored seven league goals, with one assist in 11 matches for Al Hilal.
England
Taiwo Awoniyi, Emmanuel Dennis (Nottingham Forest )
Super Eagles striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, played for 88 minutes as Nottingham Forest claimed a valuable point in their relegation fight with a deserved 1-1 draw against Chelsea, who lost ground on the Premier League top four.
The Nigerian forward was a thorn in the flesh of the Chelsea defence in the encounter.
Raheem Sterling volleyed home from five yards for the visitors after Wily Boly had flicked a cross onto his own bar. Forest attacked with vigour in the second half and Morgan Gibbs-White crashed a stunning strike off the bar.
Serge Aurier showed fine composure when he controlled the ball on his chest and volleyed home the equaliser.
He was replaced by Neco Williams. His compatriot Dennis was an unused substitute.
Alex Iwobi (Everton)
At the Etihad Stadium, Iwobi made his 200th Premier League appearances in Everton’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
He played the entire duration of the encounter. Erling Haaland’s goal proved the difference before the break but Demarai Gray equalised with a brilliant curler four minute after the hour mark.
Samuel Edozie, Joe Aribo (Southampton), Tosin Adarabioyo (Fulham)
At Craven Cottage, Edozie and Aribo were handed starting roles for Southampton who suffered a fifth straight Premier League defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage.
James Ward-Prowse’s superb second-half free-kick, which cancelled out his earlier own-goal, seemed set to secure his side a much-needed point.
But a clever flick-on from Kenny Tete set up Joao Palhinha’s 88th-minute header. Aleksandar Mitrovic missed an injury-time penalty and the chance to add gloss to the scoreline. Fulham are up to seventh on the back of their fourth win in seven games. Adarabioyo came off the bench in the seventh minute of stoppage time to replace…..
Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
Crystal Palace coach, Patrick Vieria handed starting roles to Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze for Eagles who recovered from back-to-back Premier League defeats to finish 2022 on a high with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
Olise had a hand in both goals. The France U-21 made an assist for Jordan Ayew’s goal in the 19th minute. He also set up Eze for his side’s second goal in the 36th minute. Olise was substituted with two minutes left on the clock while Eze was in action for 76 minutes.
Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke played for 90 minutes and failed to score despite picking up a caution midway through the second half.
France
Terem Moffi (Lorient)
Moffi fired blanks for Lorient in their 2-1 away win against Angers at the Stade Raymond Kopa in the French Ligue 1 fixture on Sunday.
Abdallah Sima scored for the home side in the 19th minute but an own goal from Abdallah Sima in the 79th minute drew Lorient level. Enzo Le Fee fired home a pass from Ibrahima Kone in the 88th minute to seal victory for Les Merlus.
The 23-year-old has been in top form for French Ligue 1 side FC Lorient this season, with 10 goals in 16 matches in the country’s top division.
Moffi, who is contracted to 2024, joined Lorient in 2019 and now has 33 in 88 since, having played in Lithuania and Belgium before moving to France for a fee of £7m.
Lorient sit seventh in the French top division with 31 points from 17 league matches while only PSG’s Kylian Mbappe (13), Neymar (11) Folarin Balogun and Alexandre Lacazzete have scored more than Moffi.
Moses Simon (Nantes)
Nigeria winger, Simon played for 64th minute and made a positive impact before coming off for Marcus Coco as Nantes sealed an important 1-0 win over Auxerre at the Stade de la Beaujoire stadium on Sunday. Simon is currently Nantes top scorer so far this season with five goals.
Josh Maja (Bordeaux)
In the French Ligue 2, Nigeria international, Josh Maja, bagged his eighth goal of the season in Girondins Bordeaux’s 2-1 win over Sochaux at the Matmut Atlantique stadium.
The win moved Bordeaux to second place in the Ligue 2 table with 31 points, five points adrift of leaders Le Havre. Maja has been outstanding in the French Ligue 2 adding three assists in 16 appearances to his goals this season.
SPAIN
Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal)
Villarreal forward, Samuel Chukwueze, scored his first LaLiga goal of the season for the Yellow Submarines in eight months on Saturday in their 2-1 win over Valencia at the Estadio de la Ceramica, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Chukwueze who last scored a league goal for Villarreal in their 2-1 defeat to Alaves on April 30th, 2022 is enjoying a new lease of life since the arrival of former Quique Setien who replaced Unai Emery in October.
The Nigerian forward netted his side’s equaliser in the 46th minute after he converted an assist from Gerard Moreno after Edinson Cavani had opened the scoring for Valencia. The goal was his first of the current campaign in the LaLiga in 14 appearances.
Source: The Punch
