NIGERIAN PLAYERS ABROAD: Osimhen powers Gala to victory as Nigerian stars fired blanks in Europe

As the first international window of the year approaches, Nigerian stars couldn’t run the show as much as possible for their clubs last weekend but Victor Osimhen still stood out for Galatasaray in Turkey ABIODUN ADEWALE recaps their performances

TURKEY

VICTOR OSIMHEN (GALATASARAY)

Galatasaray were on the verge of dropping more points in the pursuit of the Turkish Super Lig title on Sunday but Osimhen turned up again, netting the winner in their 2-1 victory at Alanyaspor. Off the back of a brace in their 3-3 draw against Kasimpasa last week, the striker’s momentum was almost halted by their hosts until the 62nd minute when he rose high from quite a difficult position, leaping to connect with a cross and powered his header inside the right post. The goal took his league tally to 17 goals and four assists, while Gala also kept their seven-point lead until their rivals Fenerbahce played their game at hand.

ANTHONY DENNIS (GOZTEPE)

New Super Eagles invitee, Dennis, played for 64 minutes as 10-man Goztepe suffered a 3-1 defeat at Sivasspor. The 20-year-old midfielder has been a silent operator in the Turkish Super League, notching 21 appearances with two assists.

ENGLAND

WILFRED NDIDI (LEICESTER CITY)

Ndidi got his fifth start for Leicester since recovering from an injury, playing the entire 90 minutes against Chelsea but his presence couldn’t prevent the Foxes from suffering their 19th defeat of the season as they remain land-locked in the relegation zone.

Leicester City went into their game against Chelsea with a terrible record, losing 13 of their last 15 games in all competitions. The last time they won a game was a 2-1 win over Tottenham in January.

Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen saved Cole Palmer’s penalty, and the Foxes went down to Marc Cucurella’s 60th-minute goal.

SPAIN

CHRISANTUS UCHE (GETAFE)

Another weekend, another 90 minutes for Uche, who continues to ride the tide with Gefate in the Spanish La Liga. The Nigerian midfielder who was recently listed in the Super Eagles’ provisional 39-man list for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe was involved for 90 minutes as Getafe stunned Atletico 2-1.

Getafe’s Mauro Arambarri scored a last-gasp quick-fire double to upset 10-man Atlético Madrid 2-1 on Sunday as Diego Simeone’s side missed a golden opportunity to move to the top of La Liga.

Getafe, meanwhile, are 11th in the Spanish topflight with 33 points after 27 games. Uche has only missed one of their matches this season.

EDNA IMADA (GRANADA)

Super Falcons hopeful Imade was a second-half substitute, featuring for 33 minutes in Granada’s 2-0 loss at home to Athletic Bilbao Women. She has 12 goals in 20 games this season, just four goals behind leading scorer Ewa Pajor of Barcelona.

CHINYERE KALU (REAL BETIS)

Nigerian midfielder Chinyere Kalu made her fourth Liga F appearance of the season for Real Betis Women on Sunday as they held Atletico Madrid Women to a goalless draw.

The 19-year-old featured for 70 minutes and got a 6.8 rating.

Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade was not listed in Atletico’s squad for the game.

GERMANY

AKPOGUMA, ORBAN (HOFFENHEIM)

Defender Kevin Akpoguma and forward Gift Orban didn’t enjoy the best of their games as Hoffenheim were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Heidenheim on Sunday. Akpoguma was taken off injured five minutes into the game while Organ failed to score for the first time in three in three matches. He has four goals in eight games since joining the German club in January.

FRANCE

MOSES SIMON (NANTES)

Arguably their best player this season, Simon made a rare substitute appearance in Nantes home defeat against Strasbourg, leaving the Canaries just three points above the relegation zone. Simon came on for Mostapha Mohamed with 20 minutes left on the clock in search of a breakthrough but they were stunned by their visitors. The Nigerian has six goals and seven assists in 23 games this season and will hope to lead them far from the drop.

GREECE

BRUNO ONYEMAECHI (OLYMPIAKOS)

Super Eagles left-back Onyemaechi made his third Greece Super League appearance and his fifth in all competitions against OFI Crete. Olympiakos won the game 1-0 to extend their lead in the table, putting the Nigerian defender, who joined them in January on the cusp of his first major piece of silverware.

BELGIUM

RAPHAEL ONYEDIKA (CLUB BRUGGE)

Still needing a win to progress in the Champions League, Onyedika and his Club Brugge teammates wasted no time in sealing a 3-1 win over Cercle Brugge in Belgium topflight on Sunday as the Nigerian was substituted at halftime for the sake of caution. He was booked for tripping in the 20th minute. In 24 league games this season, he has one goal and one assist.