While attention shifted to Syli Nationale’s Naby Deco who needed only two minutes to score for his German club, Senegal’s 30-year-old striker had many talking after he reproduced that silky hope-shattering volley that stunned Manchester United today against Rizespor. Sow might be aging but surely hasn’t lost his class of touch and penchant for scoring hat-tricks after he struck thrice in Fenerbache’s 5-1 win this evening.
England
Yaya Toure was a man mountain in City’s game against Burnley which saw Sergio Aguero’s brace settling the score. Iheanacho watched from the bench while Mbokani had a run of blanks in relegation-threatened Hull City’s 1-1 tie with West Bromwhich Albion.
Algeria duo Slimani and Mahrez each grabbed a penalty goal in a game Super Eagles winger Ahmed Musa also had minutes from the bench as Leicester City came from behind to level Midddlesbrough 2-2.
Nigeria’s Victor Anichebe failed to replicate his impressive scoring form picked up of recent in Sunderland’s 2-1 lost to Sadio Mane’s Liverpool.
Modou Barrow got the nod from the start again as Swansea City nicked in two late goals via Llorente to swagger over Crystal Palace 5-4 in a nine-goal-thriller contest in the English Premier League. Victor Moses terrific campaign for Chelsea continued with the Nigerian netting the Blues second against Victor Wanyama’s Tottenham.
Inghalo joined the fray a fresh leg with Deeney and Pereyra ahead of the Nigeria international on the pecking order in the 1-0 humbling to Mame Biram Diouf’s Stoke City. Iwobi was an unused sub in Arsenal savaging of Bournemouth. Senegal’s Diafran Sakho has a sore liking for Manchester United. The forward scored his first league goal against the Red Devils in August, a fixture West Ham ran out 3-2 winners. He showed that feeling again netting the first goal after just two minutes ticked though Ibrahimovic leveled for Jose Mourinho’s men.
African triumvirate of Ghana’s Albert Adomah, Ivory Coast’s Kodjia and Benin’s Rudy Gestede each scored to help Aston Villa sink third-from-bottom Cardiff City in the English Championship. Bong occupied the left-back role as Brighton and Hove Albion smacked Fulham 2-1 while Mulumbu watched on impotently as Derby thumped Norwich City. Idriss Sylla of Guinea came on as a 59th minute sub in QPRs’ 3-0 bashing to Ipswich Town. Nigeria’s Akpan was an unused sub but his Blackburn Rovers outfit went on to beat Mbemba’s championship table-topping Newcastle United.
Earlier on Friday, Nottingham Forest proved they could cope without Gambian winger Mustapha Carayol when they hammered Yiadom’s Barnsley 5-2.
Spain
Kameni –the man who wowed Barcelona last weekend –was made to look rather ordinary after getting shipped three goals by Deportivo La Coruna but Malaga would go onto win 4-3. Bakary Kone of Burkina Faso –the other African in the Malaga set up – wasn’t deemed good enough for a minute football in the keenly contested tie. Algeria’s Aït-Atmane got booked in the 61st minute as Sporting Gijon suffered a 2-1 trouncing to La Liga leaders Real Madrid.
Medjan and Senegal’s Diop were fitted to the bench role in Espanyol-Leganes La Liga duel. Bakambu of DR Congo had a 21-minute starring for Villareal who succumbed to Deportivo Alaves. Ghana’s Partey came on as replacement for Grizemann as Atletico Madrid dumped Osasuna.
Germany
Guinea Namby Deco Keita is a mainstay as RV Leipzig continues a brilliant unbeaten track record in to their 12th game of the season in the German Bundesliga. Keita scored his fourth goal of the campaign banging home the opener as league leaders RB ripped off Freiburg 4-1.
Bakary Jatta was again an unused sub for Hamburg with the Gambian still waiting for his Bundesliga debut. Hamburg drew 2-2 with Werder Bremen. Marvin Matip of Cameroon along with DR Congo’s Marcel Tisserand formed core of strugglers Ingolstadt’s defence helping them pick a hard-fought 1-1 stalemate against Wolfsburg.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is certainly showing no signs of slowing down, scoring his goal number twelve of the season in his eleventh start for Dortmund in the team’s lost to Eintracht Frankfurt. The Gabonese star is the man single-handed pulling Dortmund in an otherwise sluggish run of late.
Baba Rahman was out left in the coldness of the dug-out while teammate and Cameroon’s star Choupo-Moting scored in Schalke’s 3-1 triumph over Darmstadt. Solomon Kalou turned provider for one of Bosnian teammate Ibisevic’s goals as Hertha BSC pinched Mainz 2-1.
Italy
Lamin Jallow and Acquah had few minutes of football as Chievo Verona, reduced to ten men by the sending off of Cacciatore, slipped 2-1 to Torino. El Hadji fared from start to finish as second-placed Milan did just what they thought of his Empoli of a club, beating them 4-1. Diao Balde Keita was another regular for Lazio who slayed Palermo by one to nothing.
Taider of Algeria showed class act while Nigeria’s Okwonkwo replaced Viviani in Bolgna’s routing to Atlanta. Black Stars’ Cofie and Togo’s Gakpe were a crucial pair in the Genoa outfit that condemned leaders Juventus to a 3-1 battering.
France
At the Stade Symphorien, Ghana’s Waris and Moukandjo combined to give lifeline to bottom-placed Lorient after Metz had raced into an early 11th minute lead. The Indomitable Lions understudy captain later snatched a penalty goal to force a 3-3 final score.
Clinton Njie and Lyon got drubbed brutally by rampant leaders Monaco who scored four unanswered goals at the Stade Louis on Saturday.
Adulations struck the path of Guinea’s 20-year-old forward Francois Kamano who plundered in two goals after joining the fray a minute from break as Bordeaux rallied from a goal down to steal the headlines. Algeria’s Mehdi Abeid inked his first goal for Dijon in that showdown, securing the opener but former champions Bordeaux equalised via a Roland’s effort.
Guinea’s Pogba, brother to Manchester United’s record signing, was a major influence in ten-man St Etienne’s 2-1 win over Angers SCO. Ivory Coast’s Nicolas Pepe notched in the consolation goal for Anger.
In Ligue 2, Idriss Mhisri from Tunisia registered his first goal but his Red Star club suffered a 4-1 humbling to Bourg en Bresse on Friday.
24-year-old Moroccan forward Rachid Alioui is red-hot and is join-top of Ligue 2’s scoring chart having notched a brace in Neims 3-0 mauling of Reims to add to tally for the season to ten.
Central African Republic’s Eloge Ethisse Enza-Yamissi was a hit scoring the first goal as Valenciennes beat Orleans 2-0 in a game Ivory’s Edson Seidou turned the goal into his own net.
Khalid Boutaib was another African on the score sheet on Friday as his penalty goal won the day for Starsbourg. While it was heartbreak for Mali’s 23-year-old midfielder Modibo Dembele who saw red in the encounter for a rash challenge, it was another brilliant episode for compatriot Adama Niane whose winner –scored after minutes ticked in the game – earned it for table-toppers Troyes. Yoann Touzghar added to the African goal-scorer contingent on Friday but his goal was made to count for nothing following bottom-rocked Auxerre’s 2-1 slaying to Tours in a battle of league under-performers.
Netherlands
Ogbeche was a good as a spectator in Willem II’s downing of Go Ahead Eagles. Angola’s Alfredo Kulembe Ribeiro made his 13th start in Excelsior’s one-all tie with Vitesse as Morocco’s Adnane Tighadouini last-minute effort saved the day for the Eagles who were on the brink of losing 2-1.
Atwooniyi was the sole African left out in the NEC-Twente 3-2 battle as South Africa’s Mokotjo and Yeboah all had parts in the mix
Scotland
Abdul Osman got to play for Patrick Thistle but they bit the dust to second-placed Rangers. Arnaud Sutchuin Djoum from Cameroon clocked his fourteenth game for Hearts while Buaben got rested on the substitutes’ bench in Hearts comprehensive 3-0 win over Motherwell. Lonsana Dumbouya of Guinea got throw in as a fresh leg as Iverness CT slumped 2-1 to Dundee United.
Austria
Alhassane Keita last weekend ended his seven-game scoreless streak by scoring against Mattersburg but couldn’t repeat that feat against Ried St Polte who managed to gab an eventual 2-1 victory.
Louis Clermont Ngwat-Mahop stamped home a last-gasp winner for Rheindolf Altach in a keenly contested fixture that saw his compatriot Ngamaleu seeing a red.
Featured Photo: Chelsea’s Victor Moses celebrates his winning goal against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
