Nigerians abroad: Boniface, Tella become champions; Arokodare on target again

Bayer Leverkusen duo, Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella, claimed the German Super following a penalty shootout win over Stuttgart on Saturday, while Super Eagles hopeful Tolu Arokodare continued his fine start to the season for Genk.

It was quite a productive weekend for Nigerian players as a host of Europe’s top five leagues got their 2024/25 season underway.

Here is a summary of how the weekend went for all of them.

GERMANY

Victor Boniface and Nathhan Tella (Bayer Leverkusen): The duo featured for the Bundesliga champions in the German Super Cup fixture against VFB Stuttgart on Saturday. Boniface, who was injured for most of the second stanza of last season, scored the game’s opening goal in the contest decided on penalties after it ended 2-2 in regulation time.

BELGIUM

Tolu Arokodare (Genk): Arokodare continued his fine start to the season as he grabbed a brace for Genk in their 4-3 away win over Beerschot on matchday 4 of the Belgian Jupiler on Saturday. The 23-year-old has now scored in three consecutive league games this season, taking his season tally to four goals in the Belgian top-flight.

ENGLAND:

Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey (Fulham): The Super Eagles stars were in action for Fulham who lost 1-0 to Manchester United in the season opener of the 2024/25 Premier League season on Friday night. The duo were on the pitch for the entire duration of the contest at Old Trafford.

Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest): Aina started the game, but had to depart early in the second half due to an injury as Forest drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the City Ground. Additionally, Awoniyi came on as a second-half substitute but could not get a goal for himself.

Frank Onyeka (Brentford): The midfielder was in action for the Bees who kicked off the new Premier League campaign with a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace at home on Sunday afternoon. Onyeka was a late substitute in the game when he came on for Yoane Wissa – the match-winner – in the 84th minute.

Joe Aribo (Southampton): Aribo returned to the Premier League with the Saints but it started on a losing note. At St. James’ Park, 10-man Newcastle defeated Southampton 1-0 where the Super Eagles midfielder was in action before going off in the 70th minute.

FRANCE

Akor Adams (Montpellier): The 24-year-old was in action for Montpellier as they played out a 1-1 draw against Strasbourg in their Ligue 1 clash on Sunday. The former Nigerian Youth international was impressive in the game, as he won a penalty for Montpellier’s equalizer before he made way in the closing stages of the contest.

Moses Simon (Nantes): Simon returned to action for Les Canaris following his recovery from an injury that kept him out for the remainder of last season. The Super Eagles winger featured for 75 minutes in his side’s goalless draw with Toulouse in their Ligue 1 game on Sunday.

ITALY

Maduka Okoye (Udinese): The Nigerian goalkeeper was in goal for Udinese who opened the new Serie A campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Bologna on Sunday. Riccardo Orsolini put Bologna ahead in the 57th minute after beating the 24-year-old from the penalty spot before Lautaro Giannetti equalized for Udinese 11 minutes later, as both teams settled for a share of the spoils. Maduka made five saves in the game to help I Bianconeri avoid defeat at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium.  Also in action for Udinese was Kingsley Ehizibue, while Isaac Success was not in action due to a thigh injury.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (Lazio): Fisayo featured in his side’s 3-1 win over Venezia in their Serie A opener at Stadio Olimpico. The new signing had a fine game for Aquilotti as they started the new season on a winning note. The Super Eagles midfielder completed 96% of his passes and won 50% of his ground duels.

Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan): The Super Eagles winger was in action for AC Milan who came from 2-0 down to rescue a point against Torino in their opening game of the new Serie A season at the San Siro on Saturday. The Nigerian international made way for Theo Hernandez in the 60th minute.

Victor Osimhen (Napoli): Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen was not listed in Napoli’s squad by Antonio Conte as they lost 3-0 away to Hellas Verona in their season opener. The current African Footballer of the Year is still looking for a way to exit the club after reports confirmed he has handed in a transfer request.

SPAIN

Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidera Ejuke (Sevilla): The Super Eagles pair, who just moved to the Andalusian club this summer, did not feature in Sevilla’s 2-2 draw at Las Palmas in their La Liga opener. While winger Ejuke was listed on the bench, the former Leicester City man was not in the squad for the game.

Chrisantus Uche (Getafe): It was all about little-known Chrisantus Uche, who made an immediate impact and impression on his debut for Getafe against Athletic Bilbao in their season opener. Uche, 21, scored via an excellent header to open his goal account on his debut, having arrived from the third division.

SCOTLAND

Cyriel Dessers (Rangers): Dessers made an impact off the bench for Rangers in their 2-0 win over St. Johnstone in the league cup. After a goalless first half, Dessers, who was introduced into the game in the second half, scored 15 minutes after coming on before he then assisted Ross McCausland for the second.