Moses opens Nantes account for new season

•Moses opens Nantes account for new season; Emegha also on target

As the first international break approaches, Moses Simon opened his goal account for the season in France as Nigerian players abroad continue to impress. ABIODUN ADEWALE reports

SUNDAY

FRANCE

MOSES SIMON (NANTES)

Nantes got their first win of the season and ended an unwanted Ligue 1-record nine successive home defeats with a 2-0 win over Auxerre at the Stade de la Beaujoire.

Simon led the way with the first goal for the Canaries in the 14th minute, while France’s Bahereba Guirassy got the second in the stoppage time of the second half.

Simon’s marauding run down the left ended with his stinging drive slipping through the fingers of Donovan Léon. That goal seemed to help Nantes find their groove, and they looked good value to find a second goal soon after.

For a Nantes side that endured an underwhelming 2023/24 season, a 0-0 draw against Toulouse last weekend must’ve left fans fearing another long season.

EMMANUEL EMEGHA (STRASBOURG)

Dutch player of Nigerian descent, Emegha, was on target as Strasbourg Alsace earned their first Ligue 1 win of the season by defeating Stade Rennais 3-1 at the Stade de la Meinau, making it a third straight unbeaten game for the first time since 1999.

Following Andre Santos’ opener, Emegha made it two after the restart before he was substituted in the 66th minute. The 21-year-old got his name on the scoresheet for an instinctive finish into the near corner after picking up a loose ball in the area following a free kick.

ENGLAND

 Frank ONYEKA (BRENTFORD)

There was still no place for Onyeka in the Brentford starting lineup for the second consecutive game in the new season.

The Nigeria midfielder settled for a place on the bench in their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. He came on for Vitaly Janelt with 18 minutes left to play with the score at 2-0.

BELGIUM

RAPHAEL ONYEDIKA (CLUB BRUGGE)

Midfielder Onyedika made his fourth league appearance of the season as the Belgian First Division A Champions Club Brugge edged Dender 2-1 away from home. He got a 7.3 rating from Flashscore for his 90-minute show. Onyedika was a kept figure in their triumph last season, scoring three crucial goals plus one assist in their title run.

CYPRUS

FRANCIS UZOHO (OMONIA)

After deputising for the remainder of last season, Super Eagles goalkeeper Uzoho returned to the bench at Omonia following the return of Brazilian goalkeeper Fabiano Freitas from injury.

The 25-year-old was an unused substitute in their 2-0 win over Achnas in their first game of the season.

Uzoho made 10 appearances for the club last season, with Freitas sidelined by injury.

DENMARK

 STEPHEN ODEY (RANDERS)

 Stephen Odey was dropped to the bench for the first time this season as he played just 27 minutes in their 2-2 draw at Brondby.

The former MFM striker, who started their last five games, managed four goals plus two assists in 34 games last season.

TURKEY

KENNETH OMERUO (KASIMPASA)

 Super Eagles defender Omeruo was only given a taste of action in the closing stages of Kasimpasa’s 2-2 draw against Adana Demirspor.

He played just one minute after replacing Haris Hajradinovic in stoppage time.

In three games this season, the former Chelsea defender has seen his game time reduce drastically, having only started one. He played the entire duration of their 3-2 home defeat on the first day of the season and was subsequently dropped to the bench, playing just nine minutes in their 1-1 draw against Hatayaspor last week.

SATURDAY

ENGLAND

IWOBI, BASSEY (FULHAM)

Of the three Nigerians on parade at the Craven Cottage on Saturday, Alex Iwobi stood out by powering Fulham to a 2-1 win over Wilfred Ndidi’s Leicester City with a sumbline goal.

For the second consecutive Premier League game, Iwobi was named in the Fulham starting lineup alongside Super Eagles teammate Calvin Bassey.

Fulham, fresh from a narrow opening day’s defeat at Manchester United, took the lead courtesy of a fine 18th-minute strike from former Arsenal man Emile Smith Rowe.

Leicester City equalised through defender Wout Faes shortly before halftime before Iwobi stole the show midway into the second half.

The Nigeria playmaker raced through on goal after receiving a pass from Antonee Robinson and smashed a left-footed shot through the legs of Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

The goal was Iwobi’s first of the season and the 23rd Premier League goal of his career, making him the ninth-highest scoring Nigerian in the competition’s history.

WILFRED NDIDI (LEICESTER)

With his new jersey number (6) highlighting his role at Leicester City, Ndidi kept his place in defensive midfield for the Foxes, but he couldn’t do enough to prevent them from a 2-1 defeat.

Defender Wout Faes had cancelled out Emile Smith Rowe’s opener for Fulham, but the Foxes were undone by another Nigerian, Alex Iwobi, who raced through on goal after receiving a pass from Antonee Robinson and smashed a left-footed shot through the legs of Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

JOE ARIBO (SOUTHAMPTON)

For the second game running on their Premier League return, Aribo kept his place in the starting lineup for Southampton, but the Nigeria midfielder couldn’t help the Saints avoid a 1-0 defeat at home against Nottingham Forest, which had three other Nigerians. Aribo played for 76 minutes, six minutes more than he got last week.

AWONIYI, AINA, DENNIS (FOREST)

Just like he did last week, Taiwo Awoniyi was a second-half substitute for Nottingham Forest in their 1-0 win over Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium, their first win of the season.

Morgan Gibbs White scored the Tricky Trees’ only goal in the 70th minute, and the Nigeria striker came on six minutes later for Chris Wood. His Super Eagles teammate and defender Ola Aina was on for the entire duration of the game, while Emmanuel Dennis was not listed for the match.

MAJA, AJAYI (WEST BROM)

Striker Josh Maja is fit again, and he can’t stop scoring for West Brom, grabbing his fourth goal of the season in their 2-1 away win at Stoke City. He scored the match-winner in what was an early flurry of goals in the 31st minute.

Maja started the season with a bang, scoring a hat-trick in their 3-1 win over QPR. His compatriot, Semi Ajayi was also solid defensively.

ITALY

MADUKA OKOYE (UDINESE)

Fresh from making the Serie A Team of the Week last week, Okoye was on the winning side as Udinese claimed a 2-1 win over Lazio.

The shot stopper faced 18 shots during the game, and the Super Eagles goalkeeper was on the brink of another clean sheet until he was beaten deep in stoppage time by Gustav Isaksen.

Thanks to Okoye, the Udinese have their first Serie A win of the season, maintaining their impressive run and being undefeated in their last seven games in the league.

The club’s last longer unbeaten streak was from 20th August 2022 to 16th October 2022, a run of nine games.

FISAYO DELE-BASHIRU (LAZIO)

Dele-Bashiru was played for 60 minutes as Lazio fell to a 2-1 defeat at Udinese.

Since making a loan switch from Hatayaspor of Turkey earlier in the summer, the Nigeria midfielder has been impressive, seeing full-time action in their 3-1 win over Venezia last week.

SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE (AC MILAN)

Elsewhere in Italy, it was another disappointing day for Chukwueze and AC Milan, who were humbled 2-1 at Parma.

The Nigeria winger was dropped from the starting lineup, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute for Christian Pulisic, who scored Milan’s only goal of the encounter.

SIMY NWANKWO (SALERNITANA)

At the Stadio Marco Druso in Bolzano, Nwankwo provided the assist for Salernitana’s goal, but it was not enough to see them avoid falling to a 2-1 defeat at Südtirol.

EBENEZER AKINSAMIRO (SAMPDORIA)

The day did not also end well for Akinsanmiro and Sampdoria, as they suffered a 1-0 loss against Reggiana in their first Serie B home game of the season.

The Remo Stars product, who is on loan from Inter Milan, has been impressive in Serie B. He played for 84 minutes in their first game, a 2-2 draw against Frosinone, and also saw 64 minutes of action on Saturday.

TURKEY

OGHENEKARO ETEBO (GENÇLERBIRLIĞI)

Etebo showed glimpses of his best form as he featured for Gençlerbirliği in their goalless draw at Iğdır FK on Saturday evening.

After going the entire 2023/24 season without playing a competitive match following the expiration of his loan deal at Greek club Aris, Etebo joined Gençlerbirliği on a free transfer this summer.

The midfielder was one of Gençlerbirliği’s better players on Saturday, as he completed 91 percent of his passes, made three tackles, won 100 percent of his ground duels, and lost possession only three times.

The 28-year-old Super Eagles star will look to help Gençlerbirliği secure their first maximum points when they next face Esenler Erokspor away from home.