It was another busy weekend for Nigerian footballers across Europe, with goals, assists, clean sheets and important appearances making headlines. Tolu Arokodare opened his Eredivisie account for Ajax, Kelechi Iheanacho produced a goal and an assist in Turkey, while Arthur Okonkwo continued his impressive start to life in the English Championship.
Several other Super Eagles stars also featured across Europe’s top leagues, giving Nigerian fans plenty to follow as the new season gathers momentum.
Arokodare Opens Eredivisie Account
Tolu Arokodare continued his excellent start at Ajax by scoring his first Eredivisie goal in a 4-0 victory over Telstar on Sunday.
The Nigerian forward came off the bench and found the net in the 60th minute after being set up by Steven Berghuis. Davy Klaassen had opened the scoring before Berghuis doubled Ajax’s advantage early in the second half. Marcos Leonardo later completed the victory.
The goal was Arokodare’s fourth in six appearances since joining Ajax on a season-long loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. He has also registered two assists.
The forward had already enjoyed a productive week after scoring twice in Ajax’s 5-3 Conference League play-off victory over Sion.
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Akpom and Sadiq Gets Off the Mark
Chuba Akpom also opened his league account for Ipswich Town, although his goal came in a difficult afternoon at Old Trafford.
The Nigerian striker scored in the second half as Ipswich suffered a 5-2 defeat to Manchester United. The goal marked Akpom’s first Premier League strike for the club, coming 12 years after he made his Premier League debut with Arsenal.
Umar Sadiq scored his first goal of the season for Valencia in their 3-1 defeat to Deportivo La Coruña.
Sadiq capitalised on a defensive mistake to pull Valencia back into the contest after the hosts had taken a 2-0 lead. Deportivo restored their two-goal advantage after the break to secure their first LaLiga victory of the campaign.
Okonkwo Keeps Another Clean Sheet
Arthur Okonkwo’s strong start at Charlton Athletic continued as the Nigerian goalkeeper kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 Championship victory over Preston North End.
After making eight saves during his debut in Charlton’s 2-1 win over West Ham, Okonkwo followed that performance with another composed display on his home debut.
The 24-year-old has now helped Charlton win both of his league appearances, making nine saves and recording one clean sheet.
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Iheanacho Produces Goal and Assist
Kelechi Iheanacho was also among the weekend’s standout Nigerians, scoring and assisting as Bursaspor came from behind to defeat Kayserispor 2-1 in Turkey.
Iheanacho equalised from the penalty spot before setting up Alperen Babacan for the winning goal 13 minutes from time. The striker has now recorded four goals and two assists in four league appearances for Bursaspor.
Elsewhere, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey played the full 90 minutes for Fulham in their 1-0 defeat to Sunderland. Moses Simon featured for 63 minutes as Paris FC defeated Nice 3-0, while Emmanuel Fernandez helped Rangers keep a clean sheet in their 1-0 win over Aberdeen.
For Nigerian football, it was another weekend of encouraging individual performances across Europe.
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