It was another good day for Nigerian footballers across Europe on Sunday, as a number of them found the back of the net for their respective clubs.
Super Eagles forward Moses Simon helped his Nantes side end their seven-game winless streak as he scored in their 4-1 victory over Brest.
The Yellow Canaries have been poor in recent weeks, but Moses was able to lead them to a much-needed win at home against Brest. Simon got his manager’s nod to start the important game on Sunday.
Nantes were off the blocks early and they got rewarded when the Brest defender handled the ball in the box in the tenth minute. Unfortunately for Nantes, Ludovic missed the spot kick.
Brest then took the initiative in the 18th minute, as Fadiga redeemed himself with a well-taken shot that nestled in the bottom right corner.
But Moses swung into action to help his side avoid another poor result as he made it 1-1 from the spot. Just a minute later, Ignatius Ganago capitalized on a defensive mistake from Brest and scored to make it 2-1 for Nantes.
Brest worked hard for an equalizer in the second half, but Nantes proved to be too good. Mostafa Mohamed and Moussa Sissoko scored in the 71st and 88th minutes to ensure Nantes ran out with the 4-1 win. The win takes Nantes to 14th in Ligue 1, two points above relegation.
Meanwhile, in Italy, Dessers scored his second consecutive goal for Cremonese to help them avoid defeat at Spezia by claiming a 2-2 draw..
Cremonese were hammered 4-1 by Victor Osimhen’s Napoli last week, but they were hopeful of an excellent result against Spezia who were on a run of consecutive losses.
Just two minutes in Dessers handed his the best possible start by finishing a lay off from Luka Lochosvili to open scoring. Spezia were not behind for long in the half as M’Bala Nzola restored parity in the 17th minute. Moments later, the side went in front through Emil Holm in the 22nd minute.
Cremonese restored parity in the 52nd minute through Charles Pickel as the game finished 2-2 at the Stadio Alberto Picco. The result lifts Cremonese from the bottom of the log to 19th.
Also in the Seria A, Osimhen came off the bench to net the winner in Napoli’s comeback 3-2 win over Bologna in Naples.
Despite Napoli’s constant attacking threat, the visitors shocked the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in the 41st minute when Joshua Zirkzee swept Andrea Cambiaso’s cross in, marking his first goal in Italian football. Just before the break, Juan Jesus took advantage of a loose ball following Politano’s corner to restore parity.
After the break, Osimhen and Hirving Lozano were introduced and it was the latter who was on hand to fire his side into the lead after some good work from Kvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The home fans were stunned once again though as the visitors immediately equalized through Musa Barrow’s long-distance shot that flew past Alex Meret, despite it looking like a routine save to make.
Knowing only a win would see them go clear at the top of the table, Napoli created a barrage of attacks, and they eventually found a third goal. Kvaratskhelia’s sublime defence-splitting pass sent Victor Osimhen through on goal, and the Nigerian made no mistake firing past Łukasz Skorupski.
Luciano Spalletti’s men stayed in control of the final minutes to secure a 10th consecutive victory in all competitions. Whilst Bologna’s struggles continue, with just one win in 10.
This article was most recently revised and updated 8 months ago
