• Osimhen, Simon, Dessers, Solanke, Ajibade, others on target

It was goals galore for a host of Nigerian footballers as action continued in various European leagues over the weekend. EBENEZER BAJELA takes a look at the performances of some 9f the country’s top footballers for their various sides

ENGLAND

Aribo, Edozie (Southampton)

Joe Aribo and English player of Nigerian descent Samuel Edozie were in action on Sunday as Southampton played a 1-1 draw with West Ham United at the St. Mary’s Stadium.

Aribo had a decent performance during his 74 minutes spell on the pitch before he was replaced by Edozie.

The 19-year-old, who was born in England to a Nigerian father and an English mother, made an instant impact but was unable to guide the Saints to the much-needed win.

Alex Iwobi (Everton)

In-form Iwobi was in action for the entire 90 minutes as the Toffees suffered a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

Iwobi was unlucky not to have an assist registered in his name after a fine pass to Demarai Gray, who failed to finish off the chance.

Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City)

With just five minutes to the end of the game against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Brendan Rodgers sent in Iheanacho for Harvey Barnes as the Foxes searched for their second win of the 2022/23 season.

The forward however had little or no impact as the game ended goalless in front of the 31,298 spectators at the King Power Stadium.

Awoniyi, Dennis (Nottingham Forest)

It was another disappointing outing at the Molineux Stadium for Nigerian duo Taiwo Awoniyi and Emmanuel Dennis, whose side suffered a 1-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

Dennis started the game from kick-off and was in action for 70 minutes, before being replaced by Jesse Lingard. Despite some flashes of brilliance, the former Watford man was unable to break the hosts’ defence and was booked by referee Thomas Bramall.

Meanwhile, it was the same story for his compatriot Awoniyi, who was thrown into the fray with just six minutes of action left.

The former Liverpool forward came on for Remo Freuler but couldn’t do anything to salvage a result for the newly promoted side.

Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)

Solanke put up an impressive display as Bournemouth played a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage in the English Premier League on Saturday.

The English player of Nigerian descent scored the opening goal of the encounter just two minutes into the game before assisting Jefferson Lerma in the 29th minute to put Bournemouth ahead again after the home side had drawn level through Issa Diop in the 22nd minute.

It was another disappointing outing at the Molineux Stadium for Nigerian duo Taiwo Awoniyi and Emmanuel Dennis, whose side suffered a 1-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

Dennis started the game from kick-off and was in action for 70 minutes, before being replaced by Jesse Lingard. Despite some flashes of brilliance, the former Watford man was unable to break the hosts’ defence and was booked by referee Thomas Bramall.

Meanwhile, it was the same story for his compatriot Awoniyi, who was thrown into the fray with just six minutes of action left.

The former Liverpool forward came on for Remo Freuler but couldn’t do anything to salvage a result for the newly promoted side.

Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)

Solanke put up an impressive display as Bournemouth played a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage in the English Premier League on Saturday.

The English player of Nigerian descent scored the opening goal of the encounter just two minutes into the game before assisting Jefferson Lerma in the 29th minute to put Bournemouth ahead again after the home side had drawn level through Issa Diop in the 22nd minute.

Championship

Troost-Ekong, Okoye, Kalu (Watford)

Super Eagles assistant captain William Troost-Ekong was in action as Watford continued their fight to return to the English Premier League.

The defender put up an impressive display as the Hornets defeated Norwich City 2-1 at Vicarage Road.

The 29-year-old played the entire 90 minutes as Slaven Bilic’s men held on to their slender lead to claim the three precious points.

But Okoye continued to warm the bench, while Samuel Kalu was brought on with just a minute to the end of the game. The winger replaced Ismaila Sarr and was in action for the additional minutes of the encounter.

Marvin Ekpiteta (Blackpool)

lackpool’s Ekpiteta was red carded in a thrilling 3-3 stalemate against Sheffield United. The player of Nigerian descent was given the marching orders in the 78th minute, after receiving his second yellow card of the game, having been booked earlier in the 55th minute.

Elijah Adebayo (Luton Town)

Adebayo was on target for Luton Town on Saturday as they defeated Queens Parks Rangers 3-1 at Kenilworth Road.

The forward of Nigerian descent opened the scoring with just 18 minutes on the clock as the home side strolled to a comfortable win.

League 2

Josh Umerah (Hartlepool)

Also on target over the weekend was little-known Hartlepool United forward Josh Umerah.

he 25-year-old former Charlton Athletic player scored in the 85th minute for the visitors but it was not enough as they lost 2-1 to Harrogate.

ITALY

Ola Aina (Torino)

Aina was in action for 78 minutes for Torino in the Turin derby against Juventus as the hosts fell to a Dusan Vlahovic’s 74th-minute goal at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.

Aina played as a wingback and was impressive in the encounter, before being replaced by Wilfried Stephane Singo, as the hosts went in search of an equaliser.

Victor Osimhen (Napoli)

Despite scoring on his return from injury against Ajax in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, Osimhen returned to the bench on Sunday as Napoli claimed a 3-2 victory at home to Bologna at the Diego Armando Maradona.

The forward, who has been out of action since September, was not considered fit to start against the visitors and was brought on for Giacomo Raspadori in the 46th minute.

The former Lille striker made his presence felt as he scored the winner in the 63rd minute, off a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia pass, as Napoli triumphed 3-2.

Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)

It was another wonderful day for Lookman in the office as the Nigerian grabbed the winner for Atalanta just a minute to the restart of the game against Sassuolo at the Gewiss Stadium in the Italian Serie A.

The winger grabbed his fourth goal of the season and third in a row, since joining the Italian club from Leipzig last summer.

The Nigerian didn’t put in any wrong footing during his 68 minutes of action before he was replaced with Jeremie Boga.

 Cyriel Dessers (Cremonese)

Dessers was among the goals scorers as Cremonese put up a great fight to snatch a 2-2 Serie A draw against Spezia on Sunday.

The Nigerian needed two minutes to put the visiting side ahead before Angola international M’Bala Nzola levelled matters for Spezia in the 19th minute at Alberto Picco.

FRANCE

Terem Moffi (Lorient)

It was a sad moment for Moffi at the Stade du Moustoir on Saturday as he was only in action for Lorient for just 25 minutes before picking up an injury, which eventually had him replaced with Ibrahima Kone.

Moses Simon (Nantes)

Following a disappointing outing on Thursday in the Europa League, Simon was back to his best as he guided Nantes to a 4-1 win over Brest in the Ligue 1 on Sunday.

The 27-year-old converted from the spot in the 35th minute to draw level, having fallen behind to a Noah Fadiga 18th-minute goal.

The Nigerian was a menace to the opposition defenders as he was heavily involved for the hosts, who scored three more goals to return to winning ways.

BELGIUM

Chinonso Offor (Zulte Waregem)

Offor helped his Belgian club to a 3-1 win away from home against Kortrijk in the First Division A in Belgium.

The Nigerian scored his side’s second goal of the game in the 65th minute to put them ahead for the first time in the game.

Turkey

Onyekuru, David (Adana)

Nigerian duo Henry Onyekuru and Babajide David were on target as Adana Demirspor secured a comfortable 4-1 win away from home against Kasimpasa in the Turkish league.

David put the visitors in a commanding position with just five minutes to the end of the first 45 minutes, following a fine assist from Younes Belhanda, who had given the visitors the lead in the 37th minute.

In the 63rd minute, Belhanda assisted Onyekuru for the third goal of the game. Prior to his goal, the winger was shown a yellow card in additional time of first half.

NORWAY

Fred Friday (Stroemsgodset)

Port-Harcourt-born Friday was cautioned in Stroemsgodset’s 2-0 defeat to Rosenborg in the Norwegian league on Saturday.

The 27-year-old has found the back of the net on five occasions this season, but fired blanks in their defeat away from home.

HOLLAND

Bobby Adekanye (Go Ahead Eagles)

Adekanye was in action for the Dutch club before he was replaced by Finn Stokkers, but it was an underwhelming performance for the 23-year-old Ibadan-born striker. The player failed to add to his one-goal tally and he was shown a yellow card by referee Dennis Higler.

SPAIN

Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico)

Super Falcons forward, Rasheedat Ajibade, was in sensational form for Atletico Madrid scoring four goals for her side, who returned to winning ways with a 5-0 mauling of Huelva in a Spanish Primera División de la Liga de Fútbol Femenino fixture on Saturday.

Ajibade scored in the 28th minute to put Atletico ahead going into the break.

In the second half, the Nigerian scored her second of the game after she finished off a pass from Sheila Garcia in the 51st minute.

The former FC Robo star completed her hat trick in the 88th minute and added her fourth in additional time.

Qatari landlords eyeing profit from the looming World Cup have been kicking out a growing number of mostly foreign tenants, sometimes with just a few days’ notice.

More than one million football fans are expected to descend on the capital Doha during the November-December tournament, putting a strain on the tiny Gulf nation.

Landlords who have spotted an opening to increase rents “show no pity” and the market is dominated by “greed”, said a representative of a real estate company, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Reem, a foreigner working for a major Qatari company, was told she had a week to leave her apartment.

The woman, using a pseudonym to avoid reprisals from her employer, told AFP the owner of the block wanted the dozens of apartments rented to her employers emptied so they could earn more during the World Cup.

“We felt humiliated,” Reem said.

The company has moved Reem and other employees into a hotel, but they can only stay there until just before the tournament kicks off. They will then move into “temporary” apartments, she said.

“Leaving home with all our belongings in bags and boxes to go into a hotel room was a disaster.”

Other tenants in Doha told AFP they were similarly forced to choose between paying more on rent or leaving.

– Sky-high prices –

Properties in the tower where Reem used to live are advertised on booking.com for $1,700 a night during the World Cup with a minimum stay of 14 nights.

In the two years, she had been in the apartment, Reem said rent was $2,500 a month.

Most fans will be staying in hotels, apartments, cruise ships and desert camps booked through the official World Cup portal.

Organisers have insisted there will be enough accommodation for all fans in the emirate of just 2.8 million people.

The Qatar government acknowledged there was “increased demand” for accommodation during the World Cup but did not comment on individual cases. A government official said any tenant “may file a complaint with the Rental Disputes Settlements Committee Office”.

To ease the crunch, FIFA recently released thousands of hotel rooms it had reserved, which experts have said could push World Cup prices down.

Some fans are turning to the open market for luxury apartments or better locations near stadiums, and the prices advertised for some Doha properties highlight owners’ sky-high hopes.

On Airbnb, apartments for two people go for $2,500 a night.

A villa for the full 29 days of the World Cup will cost fans booking through the online platform at least $13,000 — but prices can go into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

– ‘Very high’ demand –

Some Doha residents are putting their flats up for rent and fleeing Qatar for the month.

Adel, who listed his small apartment on Airbnb for $900 a night, said “demand was very high” when he first advertised it.

But he had to cancel the reservations after Airbnb asked him to provide a landlord’s statement approving the sublet.

Rents have also risen sharply for tenants coming to the end of their leases in recent months.

While Qatari law allows for an increase of up to 10 per cent for a lease renewal, average rents in some Doha districts have risen by 40 per cent over the past year, according to Anum Hassan, head of research in Qatar at international consultancy firm Valustrat.

A Western diplomat in Doha said embassy staff have demanded increased salaries to meet their rent payments.

“Rents … will stay high for a while,” said Nabil Ghorra, a 59-year-old Lebanese-American who lives in Doha’s upscale Pearl District.

“I feel that there are people taking advantage of the situation, but this happens all over the world when there’s an event” like the World Cup.

Wydad AC ousted Rivers United from the Champions League with a 7-2 aggregate scoreline.

Rivers United have been dumped out of this year’s CAF Champions League in a humiliating fashion by Wydad AC.

After managing a 2-1 win over the Moroccan club in the first leg, the reigning Nigeria Professional Football League champions were hammered 6-0 in Sunday’s second leg in Casablanca.

Rivers United were thus ousted with a 7-2 aggregate scoreline.

The development means no Nigerian club will be in the lucrative Champions League group stage once again as Plateau United also failed in their bid n Saturday.

Rivers United started Sunday’s second-leg tie on the wrong footing; conceding barely half an hour into the encounter.

The problems of the Garden City team were compounded when their Ghanaian goalkeeper, Mutawakilu Seidu, was sent off for elbowing a Wydad player inside the box.

The home team wasted no time converting the resulting penalty to make it 2-0 going into the break.

Rivers United with their numerical disadvantage conceded a third goal soon after the restart before the home team extended their lead with a fourth goal in the 55th minute.

Plateau United and Kwara United suffered similar fates against Northern African clubs as they were edged via away goal rule

Kwara United and Plateau United, two Nigerian clubs on the continent, were eliminated from their respective tournaments by North African opponents on the basis of the away goals rule on Saturday.

Kwara United suffered a 2-0 second leg defeat to cancel out their first leg 3-1 win over RSB Berkane of Morocco while Plateau United were outwitted by a controversial penalty goal defeat to Esperance of Tunisia.

However, Plateau United have a lifeline, as their defeat meant demotion to play in the Confederations Cup.

The Harmony boys were full of life going to the second leg, having secured a two-goal advantage over Berkane, but all went to dust after Cheick Outtarra’s first half strike and Mehdi Oubaddi’s second half goal drew the Orange boys level on goals.

In the second minute of the game, Adewale Adeyinka was put to test by the hosts but Hamza Regragui’s attempt was saved by the goalkeeper. Three minutes later, Ouattara’s attempt went wide.

Berkane drew the first blood in the 16th minute from Outtarra who tapped-in Issoufou Dayo’s cross.

Just as a goal wasn’t enough for the Orange boys to progress to the next stage, the Moroccan side doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half from Oubaddi, who benefited from Adeyinka’s error.

Elsewhere, the game that was earlier played between Plateau United and Esperance ended in a sour state for the Peace Boys as they failed to break another Northern African jinx.

The Peace Boys went into the second leg of the preliminaries with a 2-1 advantage and needed a draw to proceed to the group stage of the CAF Champions League.

However, it didn’t go as planned following a controversial penalty awarded by Egyptian referee, Ibrahim El Din after Ifeanyi Emmanuel was punished for an infringement on Ben Hamouda in the 81st minute.

The forward then sent Suraj Ayeleso the wrong two minutes later to score the only goal that made the difference in the encounter.

As it stands, Plateau United will seek redemption in the second tier of the CAF inter-club competition which is the Confederations Cup.

Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has said he was fulfilled to name a top-class school he built in Jos after his parents both of blessed memory.

Ahmed Musa continued his philanthropic gesture when he officially opened M&S International School in Jos, Plateau State.

An elated Musa said he is happy to have accomplished one of his dreams to make life meaningful to less privileged and naming the school after his parents make him happier.

“It is now officially open” Ahmed Musa announced.

“I am very proud to name the school after my parents Mr. Musa and Mrs Sarah (M&S International School).”

Musa has been a philanthropist from the beginning of his career at JUTH FC of Jos.

Tottenham’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (centre) celebrating scoring his team’s second goal in their 2-0 win over Everton. 

Missed opportunity for City against Reds

While Liverpool deserved credit for taming Manchester City’s attack in their 1-0 win at Anfield. Pep Guardiola’s side wil see their defeat as a missed opportunity.

Champions City travelled to Merseyside in fine fettle, unbeaten in the Premier League, having scored 13 goals in their previous three league games.

Liverpool had suffered their worst start to a league season since 2012-13 after taking just 10 points from their first eight games coming into the blockbuster clash, trailing second-placed City by 13 points

But City never got going and even ultra-prolific Erling Haaland drew a blank, as the champions slipped to defeat, missing a real opportunity to hammer home their superiority in this new-found rivalry.

“At this level, we cannot concede the mistakes we have done,” Guardiola said. “But (we are) in October and it will be good for the future, to learn.”

Arsenal show fortitude to stay top

Arsenal’s trip to Leeds United was a litmus test for their title credentials in hostile territory, which Mikel Arteta’s side passed with a performance underlined by grit and determination in a nerve wracking 1-0 victory.

The Arsenal of old have often capitulated in the face of relentless waves of attacks – the kind Leeds mustered at Elland Road – to fall to the sort of result that has prevented them from finishing in the top four in recent seasons.

But a young Arsenal side withstood pressure for 96 minutes and, with a little help from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), ensured the club made their best start to a top-flight season with nine wins from 10 to stay four points above second-placed Manchester City.

“We showed a lot of resilience and willingness to win, especially going back to Norway on a Thursday night (in the Europa League) and then coming here,” said Arteta, admitting they had “suffered” in the second half.

“I am so proud of the boys, that is how you have to win football matches.”

Spurs show they have depth to stay in race

Tottebham’s 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday kept them comfortably in third place in the Premier League and offered more evidence that they have the depth to stay there.

They have 23 points from their opening 10 games – the club’s best start to a top-flight campaign since 1963 – without even hitting the heights in terms of performances yet.

Having match-turning quality on the bench is the key for team’s with serious title ambitions and on Saturday the introduction of midfielder Yves Bissouma early in the second half helped Spurs find the key to break down Everton.

With games coming thick and fast, manager Antonio Conte knows he now has multiple options in key positions.

Leicester’s reliance on Maddison obvious

It was evident in Leicester city’s home goalless draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday just how reliant they are on James Maddison as an attacking presence in the team.

With England manager Gareth Southgate looking on, no doubt assessing Maddison’s form ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, the midfielder ran the show with some neat touches and a genuine threat in the box.

But a late yellow card means he will be suspended for Thursday’s home game against Leeds United, which is shaping up to be a must-win after the boos rang out from sections of the club’s support after the draw with Crystal Palace.

Many Foxes fans may have expected the side to pull away from the relegation zone by now after a poor start to the season, but there are no signs their troubles are over and the absence of Maddison will be keenly felt against Leeds.

O’Neil makes case for Bournemouth job

Caretaker manager Gary O’Neil continues to make a case to be given the Bournemouth job on a permanent basis after another mature display from his side saw them hold on for a 2-2 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Had Jefferson Lerma not fouled Aleksandar Mitrovic to give away a penalty, O’Neil’s side could easily have emerged with all three points and they look much more composed than they did when he took over in the wake of Scott Parker’s dismissal on Aug. 30.

Tenth in the table, the Cherries are unbeaten in the league since the 39-year-old took the reins and, if his team keep delivering points at the rate they currently are, his caretaker position may well be converted into a permanent role.