It was another busy weekend for Nigerian players who play outside the country.
In this piece, we summarise the performances of Nigerian players abroad. From England to Turkey to Egypt and Spain.
In England
We start from the Premier League where Alex Iwobi of Arsenal had an evening to forget as the Gunners were beaten 1-3 away at Manchester City. It was a horrible day for Iwobi who was dispossessed in the Arsenal box just before City’s opening goal. The Super Eagles star endured a frustrating evening before he was taken off in the 67th minute.
Also on Sunday, Super Eagles stars Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho were in action as Leicester City were beaten 1-0 at home by Manchester United.
Ndidi played the whole 90 minutes of the game while Iheanacho was introduced late in the game.
Championship
Lower down the division, Super Eagles captain Mikel John Obi made his league debut for Middlesbrough on Saturday. Mikel played 75 minutes of Middlesbrough’s 3-2 win at West Brom.
Super Eagles midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo played the whole 90 minutes as Stoke City were beaten 2-0 away at Hull City.
Nigerian defender Semi Ajayi was in action for the entire 90 minutes as Rotherham United got a goalless draw away at Millwall.
In Spain
Samuel Chukwueze again started from the bench as Villarreal were held to a 2-2 at home to Espanyol. Chukwueze was introduced in the 83rd minute of the game just after Espanyol completed the comeback after going 2-0 down.
In Turkey
Chelsea loanee Victor Moses came off the bench to score his first goal for Fenerbahce in their 2-0 win over Göztepe SK. It took Moses just nine minutes after coming in as a 64th-minute substitute to double Fenerbahce’s lead.
Nigerian striker Anthony Nwakaeme played the whole of the 90 minutes as Trabzonspor got a 1-0 home win over Ankaragucu. It was the first win of 2019 for Nwakaeme and his teammates.
Super Eagles Henry Onyekuru played the whole 90 minutes as Galatasaray were held to a 1-1 draw away at Alanyaspor.
Super Eagles defender Chidozie Awaziem was solid at the back for Rizespor who got a 1-0 win away at BB Erzurumspor. It was a Man-of-the-Match performance from Awaziem who had the highest game rating of 7.9, made 6 clearances, 3 blocked shots, one interception and also won 100% of his tackles. He also won eight of his nine duels and completed 83% of his passes.
His teammate and compatriot Aminu Umar was in action from the start before he was taken off in the second half.
It was a debut for his Nigerian player Samuel Eduok who was on from the start for Erzurumspor.
TFF 1. League
Lower in the division, Nigerian striker Olanrewaju Kehinde netted a 90th-minute equaliser for table-toppers Denizlispor who are on a 10-game unbeaten run. He scored after coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute.
In Egypt
Nigerian forward Junior Ajayi was on fire in the CAF Champions League for Al Ahly, scoring a goal and having a hand in another in their 5-0 home win over Simba SC.
In Cyprus
Super Eagles goalkeeper Francis Uzoho made his debut in Cyprus for Anorthosis Famagusta after completing a loan move from Deportivo La Coruna. Uzoho was impenetrable as his side beat second-place Apollon Limassol 1-0.
In Greece
Nigeria international Kayode Olarenwaju grabbed a brace for Shakhtar Donetsk in their 6-1 friendly win over Botev Plovdiv in a game that was held in Turkey.
In Italy
Super Eagles fullback Ola Aina continued to be consistent for Torino and played the whole 90 minutes as they managed a goalless away draw at SPAL.
Nigerian defender William Troost-Ekong was in action the whole 90 minutes for Udinese who were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Fiorentina.
Serie B
Going down a division, Nigerian striker Simy Nwankwo scored his fifth league goal of the campaign to help Crotone earn a 1-1 draw at home to Livorno.
In Belgium
Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi was on from the start to help Excel Mouscron beat Charleroi 3-0 in a Belgian Pro League.
His compatriot Victor Osimhen played the whole minutes for Charleroi.