Kelechi Iheanacho has now scored in all 12 of Bursaspor's league matches this season. The Super Eagles striker struck five minutes after half-time on Sunday as Bursaspor won 4-2 away to Ankara Keçiörengücü at Aktepe Stadium. The result took them to the top of the Trendyol 1. Lig.
His goal broke a 2-2 deadlock.
It was a chaotic afternoon in Ankara. Emirhan Başyiğit turned the ball into his own net in the seventh minute, Amine Boutrah levelled on 15 and Lewis Baker put the visitors ahead on 35, before Oğuzcan Çalışkan equalised for the hosts two minutes before the break. Iheanacho made it 3-2 on 50 minutes. Lincoln Henrique added the fourth on 66. He was later sent off for two bookings in the space of a minute, Sporx reported.
A small knock, and a record that keeps growing
We covered game number 11, against Pendikspor, last week. This one had a sting in the tail. Iheanacho went off in the 69th minute and was replaced by Emir Kaan Gültekin. Fan site Bursasporluyuz said he was taken off as a precaution.
Coach Mustafa Er played it down. “Kelechi has a small problem. We did not want to push him too much,” he told reporters, according to Başka Gazete. He added that the striker “wanted to carry on but we did not want to take the risk.”
The numbers stay absurd. Nigeria Soccernet and The Sun both put him on 16 goals in 12 appearances. Bursaspor are on 28 points.
Er was not getting carried away. “We have taken the lead, but the important thing is to stay there and win the title at the end of the season,” he said.
Iheanacho was not the only Nigerian scoring in Turkey. Chidozie Awaziem scored both goals from centre-back, on 43 and 56 minutes, as Konyaspor beat Gençlerbirliği 2-0 in the Süper Lig. On Saturday, Gift Orban converted a 73rd-minute penalty to drag Amedspor level at Samsunspor before Dia Saba won it late, a 2-1 comeback that sent his side to the top of the Süper Lig table on 20 points from nine games. Victor Osimhen's weekend is still to come. Galatasaray host Fenerbahçe in the Istanbul derby on Monday night.
What it means for Chelle
Eric Chelle has already seen what Iheanacho can do in green. He scored the opener for a young Nigerian side in the 3-3 friendly draw with Russia on 6 October.
November is different. Nigeria are second in Group L of 2027 AFCON qualifying on three points, three behind Guinea-Bissau, and with Tanzania already through as co-hosts there is only one ticket left in the group, so the Eagles can hardly afford to drop points in the double-header against the Taifa Stars. It starts in Uyo on 11 November. The return is four days later. Unofficial squad lists are already doing the rounds online, but nothing has come from the federation.
When Chelle names his squad depends on CAF approving the schedule.
Our view: Iheanacho has made the conversation hard to avoid. He is scoring in the second tier, and that will count against him in some minds. Chelle's own verdict after the 3-0 defeat in Bissau was that his side “never found a solution” against an aggressive Guinea-Bissau, and a striker who has scored in every league game this season is at least one answer worth testing in camp, provided the 69th-minute knock is nothing more than Er says it is.
This article was most recently revised and updated 16 seconds ago
