Terem Moffi scored for Hamburger SV on Tuesday night, but it was Raphael Onyedika who walked off a winner as Eintracht Frankfurt won 3-1 at the Volksparkstadion to reach the third round of the DFB Pokal. Across Wednesday, Akor Adams had a goal chalked off against Inter while Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey went out of the Carabao Cup with Fulham.
Moffi finds the net, Onyedika finds the next round
Hamburg had the better of the first half. They kept the ball, created chances and could not take any of them.
Frankfurt punished them after the break. Robin Koch put the visitors in front on 56 minutes and Jonathan Burkardt doubled it on 72. Substitute Younes Ebnoutalib then needed barely two minutes on the pitch to make it three.
Moffi struck on 79 minutes. Too late.
It was his second goal for Hamburg since his summer move, after his first in the Bundesliga against Hoffenheim, and for a striker still building rhythm at a new club, a finish in a cup tie that was already gone still counts for something with the national team coaches watching from afar. Onyedika, meanwhile, played all 90 minutes in midfield for Frankfurt, his ninth appearance since arriving from Club Brugge, according to Bold Sports.
Bold Sports reports that the two clubs meet again in the Bundesliga this weekend. Onyedika will want the same outcome.
Adams denied by the flag in Venice
Bottom of Serie A, Venezia gave the champions a proper evening of it at the Penzo on Wednesday. Adams led the line for the full match.
On 71 minutes he ran onto a John Yeboah pass, went round Ivan Provedel and finished. Then the offside flag went up.
Eight minutes later Venezia were behind. Matias Moreno turned a Marcus Thuram cut-back into his own net. On 82 minutes a Carlos Augusto header from a Hakan Calhanoglu corner struck Redouane Halhal and went in.
That leaves Venezia on three points from nine games. Adams, who scored the winner against Napoli earlier this season, keeps getting minutes and keeps arriving in the right places.
| Player | Midweek line |
|---|---|
| Terem Moffi (Hamburg) | Goal on 79 minutes in 3-1 DFB Pokal defeat |
| Raphael Onyedika (Frankfurt) | 90 minutes, through to the third round |
| Akor Adams (Venezia) | Full match, 71st-minute goal ruled out, lost 2-0 to Inter |
| Calvin Bassey (Fulham) | 90 minutes at centre-back, lost 1-0 to Palace |
| Alex Iwobi (Fulham) | Started, replaced on 72 minutes |
A cup exit at the Cottage, and the November question
Fulham's Carabao Cup run ended in the fourth round. Eddie Nketiah scored the only goal on 37 minutes, and the move started when Oscar Mingueza took the ball off Iwobi before crossing low to the near post.
Iwobi had a chance to put it right. Dean Henderson stopped his close-range effort on 68 minutes, a stunning save in the words of the Crystal Palace match report. Four minutes later Iwobi made way for Gonzalo Garcia. Bassey played the whole game at centre-back.
Nigeria host Tanzania in Uyo in next month's AFCON qualifying window, and Eric Chelle has not yet named his squad. What the coaches will take from this week is simple enough: Moffi, Onyedika, Adams, Bassey and Iwobi are all playing regularly, and for a national team that has often gone into international windows worrying about who is fit and who has been sitting on a bench, that is a decent place to be a fortnight out.
The weekend brings another round of league games. Then the waiting for the list begins.
This article was most recently revised and updated 22 seconds ago
