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Too Good, Too Bad: How African stars performed in Europe last weekend

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The last weekend was a mixed bag for African soccer stars in their various European clubs with some of them churning out superlative performances while some could not live up to expectations.

Across different leagues in England, the Bundesliga, La Liga, the Belgian Jupiler League, the Serie A and even the EFL Championship, African players strutted their stuff and Africannewswatch brings you a review of the continent’s best and worse performers of the last weekend.

Too Good

Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal/Egypt)

Arsenal and Egyptian midfield star, Mohamed Elneny tops the Too Good list after he helped the Gunners maintain her unbeaten run in the English Premier League and remain top of the table with a 2-1 defeat of Fulham on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Egypt international made the matchday squad as a replacement for Ghanaian star Thomas Partey who picked up a thigh injury during the warm up.

Mohamed Elneny points the way forward as Arsenal romped to a 2-1 victory over Fulham (Photo Credit: Arsenal FC)

Mohamed Elneny points the way forward as Arsenal romped to a 2-1 victory over Fulham (Photo Credit: Arsenal FC)

Elneny lived up to what was expected of him as he did not disappoint by putting up a solid display to help the team come from behind to beat their opponents following an Aleksandar Mitrovic goal.

Elneny put up a man of the match display as goals from captain Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Meghalaes to put the Cottagers to the sword.

The mercurial midfielder successfully completed 50 passes, 98 percent of them accurate, including 54 touches and with Partey still sidelined, could be in line for another start when Arsenal welcome Aston Villa on Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium.

Brian Brobbey (Ajax/Ghana)

Brian Brobbey gave his chances of breaking into the Ghanaian team a huge lift when he led Ajax to a comfortable 2-0 victory against Utrecht at the Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday in their Eredivisie fixture.

After strike partner Steven Berghuis had put the perennial Dutch champions ahead, the 20-year-old Brobbey got the second goal for the home side shortly after.

The Ghanaian prospect who has scored two goals from four appearances with two assists, after opening his goal account in Ajax’s of 3-2 victory against Fortuna Sittard on August 6.

Albert Adomah (Queens Park Rangers/Ghana)

Albert Adomah was the star for Qyeens Park Rangers as he scored in a decisive goal as QPR defeated Watford in their EFL Championship game played at the Vicarage Road on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Black Star international who previously played for Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, has featured in every game for QPR in this campaign, snatched a late winner as QPR handed Watford its first defeat of the season to stun the vociferous home crowd

Joseph Paintsil (Genk/Ghana)

Another Ghanaian international who made the Too Good list was ageless John Paintsil who scored one goal and provided an assist as Genk trounced RFC Seraing 4-0 in a Belgian Jupiler League fixture on Saturday.

John Psintsil was at his best last weekend (Photo Credit:Getty Images)

John Psintsil was at his best last weekend (Photo Credit:Getty Images)

Mike Tresor Ndayishimiye had opened the scores for Genk after receiving a split pass from Paintsil before the Black Star grabbed the second of the night in the fixture played at the Stade du Pairay.

So far, Paintsil has scored three goals from six appearances with two assists. He scored his first two goals against AS Eupen on August 6 when he grabbed a brace in a 4-2 victory.

Too Bad

Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich/Senegal)

After a blistering start for his new club, the Senegalese forward had a game to forget as Bayern Munich managed to hold Borussia Monchengladbach to a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.

Though Mane had a goal disallowed after he hit the back of the net in the 35th minute after connecting a cross from Thomas Muller, but the goal was ruled out for offside after referee Daniel Schlager reviewed the build-up using VAR.

The former Liverpool star was subbed off for Serge Gnabry in the 68th minute after he could not replicate the form that has seen him score three goals for his Bundesliga club.

Edouard Mendy (Chelsea/Senegal)

The Senegalese safe hands also makes the Too Bad list yet again as he failed to keep a clean sheet as Chelsea managed to defeat Leicester City 2-1 at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

After his calamitous howler against Leeds United the previous week, Mendy failed to be as stellar as he has always been in the past as Harvey Barnes breached his net in the 66th minute after Raheem Sterling had grabbed a brace.

Mendy is no longer at his best for Chelsea *Photo Credit: Chelsea FC)

Since the new season kicked off, the Afcon winner has managed only one clean sheet which came in the 1-0 victory against Everton at Goodison Park on the first day of the season.

Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace/Ghana)

Jordan Ayew endured a frustrating afternoon as Manchester City came from two goals down to thrash Crystal Palace 4-2 courtesy of an Erling Haaland’s hat trick on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.

Patrick Vieira ‘s men had raced into a 2-0 lead by half-time after an own goal from John Stones and a header from Joachim Andersen the Citizens roared back and turned the match on its head in the second half through Bernardo Silva and Haaland to complete the comeback.

Jordan Ayew had a weekend to forget at the Etihad  (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Jordan Ayew had a weekend to forget at the Etihad (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Ayew was saved from his myseries in the 74th minute when he was replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta.

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Coach of Mamelodi Sundowns female team suspended over sexual harassment allegations

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The head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns women’s team, Jerry Tshabalala, has been suspended indefinitely amid allegations of sexual harassment of players.

A statement by the management of the top South African team said the 44-year-old Tshabalala, who has been in charge of Sundowns’s women’s team for over a decade, has been accused of a number of allegations, including making inappropriate sexual comments to his players, as well as entering the dressing room and refusing to leave while players are completely naked.

In a statement released on Saturday, Sundowns said they had appointed a law firm to investigate the allegations against the coach with specific instructions to unravel allegations of improper conduct by the Tshabalala.

The club said it views the allegations in a very serious light and has relieved the coach of his appointment pending when the investigations are concluded.

“Sundowns has, in the interim, put Coach Jerry Tshabalala on special leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” the club statement said.

“This is not done to pre-empt the outcome of the investigation, but to ensure that the investigation can proceed expeditiously and protect the rights of all parties.

“In the event that the investigation establishes facts that warrant action, the Board will immediately take such steps as are appropriate.

Mamelodi Sundowns will in due course make announcements on the findings of the investigation and the action to be taken,” the statement concluded.

The Sundowns female team have been a dominant force in women’s football in South Africa and on the continent since Tshabalala took over in 2012, winning seven domestic league titles, as well as two CAF Women’s Champions League crowns.

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FIFA Ranking: Nigeria ends 2024 as fifth best team in Africa

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Nigeria’s men’s football national team, the Super Eagles, ended the year 2024 as the fifth best team in Africa in the latest FIFA world ranking for the month of December.

According to the rankings published by the world football governing body, Nigeria remains unchanged from its previous position, despite having a challenging international break.

The FIFA rankings also reveal that Nigeria suffered a significant decline this year, dropping eight places to end 2024 ranked 44th globally.

The decline follows disappointing performances during the final AFCON qualifiers for 2025, where the Super Eagles struggled against the Benin Republic and Rwanda, resulting in a lack of wins.

However, some of the Super Eagles bitter rivals like South Africa’s Bafana Bafana experienced a resurgence, climbing three positions to finish the year ranked 57th in the world, showing a marked improvement in their recent form and successful matches during the qualifiers.

It was a woeful year for West African rivals Ghana who ended the year in 77th position, which highlights the challenges the Black Stars have encountered in the outgoing year in its bid to maintain its positions among Africa’s elite teams.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan national football team, the Atlas Lion, retained its 14th position in the in the world while still maintaining its number one spot in Africa, holding the first position for the third year in a row.

In the world ranking, Morocco is followed by Senegal on 17th position, Egypt, 33rd, Algeria 37th, Nigeria, 44th, Côte d’Ivoire, 46th, Cameroon, 49th, Mali, 51st, and Tunisia in the 52nd position.

Top 10 African teams in 2024

1. Morocco – (14th)

2. Senegal – (17th)

3. Egypt – (33rd)

4. Algeria – (37th)

5. Nigeria – (44th)

6. Côte d’Ivoire – (46th)

7. Cameroon – (49th)

8. Mali – (51st )

9. Tunisia – (52nd)

10. South Africa – (57th)

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