England: After leaving Crystal Palace fans euphoric in last week’s fixture in the club’s first and surprising win over Chelsea, Ivory Coast striker Winfred Zaha along with Mali midfielder Bakary Sako and Ghana’s Jeffrey Schlupp, were unable to follow up with another victory, losing 1-0 to Ghana’s Christian Atsu and Mohammed Daime (Senegal) of NewcastleUnited.
Later on, Saturday, despite Stoke City winning just one out of their last three games, Senegalese forward Mame Diop continued his scoring streak after netting his third consecutive league goal against DR. Congo and AFC Bournemouth’s Benik Afobe, but Stoke lost 1-2 at the Bet365 Stadium.
Also on Saturday, 24-year-old Moroccan midfielder Sofiane Boufal who played intermittently in Southampton’s senior and youth teams, returned to the scoresheet after he last scored since December 2016. The Moroccan midfielder scored a crucial goal for the Saints after firing home the winner in the 85th minute just four minutes after he was introduced. The three points moved Southampton to the 10th position with 12 points out of nine games.
Gabon’s Mario Lemina was also part of the Saints’ squad, while Allan Romeo Nyom of Cameroon was introduced for West Bromwich Albion 32 minutes into the first half.
Climaxing the weekend actions in the Barclays Premier League in Sunday’s fixtures, it was a bad day for Senegalese Idrissa Gana Gueye after he was booked twice for a send-off in the 36th minute. However, Senegal’s El-Hadji Niasse managed to slot home a late goal to reduce the goal deficit in the 90+3 minutes after coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute. It was his third goal in four matches.
In Sunday’s final fixture, Egyptian Mohamed Sallah of Liverpool fell to Ivory Coast’s Serge Aurier of Tottenham Hotspur at the Wembley Stadium. Liverpool conceded two early goals in the 12th minute before the Egyptian scored a consolation in the 24th minute, but Spurs kept the pressure on and scored additional two goals to finish the scores at 4-1 in front of a record 80,827 spectators.
Over to Spain, Fayçal Fajr of Morocco scored his first goal for Getafe since joining the club on July 19 from Deportivo La Coruna. The 29-year-old midfielder got the opener after 58 minutes of play, but Levante got the equalizer four minutes later to share the three points. Togo’s Djene Dokanam and Senegal’s Amath Ndiaye were both part of Getafe’s starting lineup.
Also in Spain, DR Congo striker Cedric Bakambu scored his record sixth goal in three consecutive games after the in-form striker opened the goal scoring for Villarreal in the side’s 4-0 victory over Las Palmas.
Ghana’s Thomas Teye Partey featured for full 90 minutes for Atletico Madrid in the team’s 1-0 win over Celta De Vigo at the Estadio de Balaídos stadium in Vigo.
In Germany, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was unable to record a goal after he featured for the full 90 minutes in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-2 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. The Gabonese remains on top of the league’s top goal scorer’s chat with 10 goals.
Ivory Coast’s Salomon Kalou converted an 81st-minute penalty to secure a 1-1 equalizer for Hertha BSC against Freiburg after earlier missing the first penalty awarded to the team in the 77th minute.
In Italy, after coming on in the 46th minute for Florentina, Senegal’s Khouma El Hadji Babacar in less than a minute of his introduction, scored the second goal in his side’s 3-0 win over Benevento.
Kwadwo Asamoah was left on the bench as an unused substitute for Juventus after the Serie A defending champions thrashed Egypt’s Ali Adnan’s Udinese 6-2 in their away fixture. The 28-year-old striker has four appearances this season.
Still in the Italian Serie A, Angola’s Bartolomeu Quissanga scored his second league goal for Lazio in his fifth league appearance of the season.
In France, more African players were on target over the weekend for their clubs, beginning with Senegal’s Keita Baldé Diao who scored his first league goal for Monaco after joining the team back in August from Lazio. The 22-year-old Senegalese scored in the 21st minute and was later replaced by Mali’s Amada Traore who was making his second appearance of the season.
With eight African players forming part of its starting lineup, Amines SC through Cameroons’s Adolphe N’Gosso Massouma collected all three points after the Cameroonian scored the lone goal in the 64th minute, assisted by Benin’s defender Abdul Adénonan.
Other African players who featured for Amines SC include Senegal’s Issa Cissokho, Togo’s Serge Gakpe, Ivory Coast Lacina Traore, DR Congo’s Gael Katuta, Senegal’s Moussa Konate and South Africa’s Bongani Zungu.
At the Stade Saint-Symphorien, Tunisia’s 27-year-old midfielder Naïm Sliti scored the winning goal after Dijon defeated Metz 2-1.
Lastly, two Africans players; Guinea’s Abdoul Camara and Nigeria’s Chidozie Awaziem were on the score sheet for Nantes and Guingamp respectively in a 2-1 encounter, but it was Awaziem’s side that emerged victorious.
Featured Photo: Getty Image
