Sports

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

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2022

There is excitement in the air as the new football season kicked off in most countries over the weekend following three months of hiatus.

While the Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga is yet to come on stream, the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, the French Ligue, the Belgium Jupiler League and the Turkish Süper Lig more than served the excitement fans were waiting patiently for.

African players were in action in some of the leagues and while some stood out and contributed to their team’s success, some could not hold the can as they failed to live up to the expectations.

AfricaNewsWatch X-rays some African stars and their performances for their clubs across Europe in the last weekend.

Too Good

Sadio Mane (Senegal/Bayern Munich)

The Senegalese AFCON winner announced his return to the Bundesliga in style as he opened his goal account with a debut goal for perennial champions, Bayern Munich, in their 6-1 thumping of 6-1 win Eintracht Frankfurt.

Bayern were already 2-0 up when Mane jumped highest to nod home a cross from former Arsenal winger, Serge Gnabry at the Deutsche Bank Park.

Sadio Mane is doing great things already for Bayern Munich (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The 30-year-old Lion of Teranga vice captain would go on to make a meaningful impact in the match with his hold up play and overall contribution.

Henry Onyekuru (Nigeria/Adana Demirspor)

Nigeria and Super Eagle star, Henry Onyekwuru is slowly carving a niche for himself as a journey man as he started another loan spell with Adana Demirspor in the Turkish Süper Lig on a high.

Onyekwuru who was in action for the whole duration of the match against Giresunspor on Sunday, got a well deserved goal in the 82nd minute as Demirspor ran out 3-2 winners in the pulsating game.

Onyekuru’s goal had levelled the scores at 2-2 before Rahmetullah Berisbek scored the winner as the Blue Lightnings kicked off their season on a positive note at Cotanak Sports Complex.

Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/PSG)

The Morocco international picked up where he left off last season with a goal and an assist as Paris Saint Germain kicked off their 2022/2023 Ligue 1 crown with a 5-0 walloping of Clermont Foot.

Achraf Hakimi picked up where he left off for PSG (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The former Inter Milan defender got PSG’s second goal and went on to contribute massively for the team’s victory.

Joseph Paintsil (Ghana/KRC Genk)

Ghana international, Joseph Paintsil, was in scintillating form for KRC Genk in the Belgian Jupiler League and capped it with two goal as his team beat Eupen 4-2 win at the Cegeka Arena on Saturday.

The 24-year-old Black Star got the first goal for Genk in the 3rd minute and doubled the lead in the 9th before two goals by Patrik Hrosovsky and Mike Tresor Ndayishimiye sealed the team’s second victory of the season to take them to second position on the log after three rounds of matches.

Too Bad

Joe Aribo (Nigeria/Southampton)

Nigerian midfielder, Joe Aribo would have wished for a better debut in the English Premier League when Southampton had the misfortune of facing Tottenham Hotspur in their first match of the season.

The Nigeria international who wa given his first competitive debut by coach Ralph Hasenhuttl had only one shot on target in the 73rd as the Saints suffered 4-1 thumping.

Joe Aribo had s debut to forget (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Aribo, who moved to Southampton from Scottish giants Rangers, could not exert any influence the team which also had Ghana defender, Mohammed Salisu, score an own goal to underscore the pressure they faced against Tottenham.

Taiwo Awoniyi (Nigeria/Nottingham Forest)

If the Nigeria international striker had been expecting a dream debut in the EPL, it was quite the opposite as he endured a frustrating afternoon on his Nottingham Forest suffered a 2-0 defeat against Newcastle United on Saturday.

The 24-year-old Awoniyi who had a spectacular last season with Union Berlin in the Bundesliga with 15 goals, was brought on for Sam Surridge three minutes after the hour mark, but could not make any impact as the Reds lost courtesy of goals from Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson.

Wilfried Zaha (IvoryCoast/Crystal Palace), Jordan Ayew (Ghana/Crystal Palace)

The duo of Ivory Coast winger, Wilfried Zaha, and Ghanaian forward, Jordan Ayew, were on the losing side as Crystal Palace lost their league opener 2-0 against in form Arsenal at Selhurst Park on Friday.

A goal in each half from Gabriel Martinelli and an own goal by Marc Guehi late in the match condemned Palace to their first defeat of the season.

Wilfred Zaha had a bad opening EPL day (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Nigerian eligible player, Eberechi Eze and Mali international, Cheick Doucoure, were also part of the Palace squad, while Arsenal duo of Mohamed Elneny and Nicholas Pepe were unused substitutes.

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Sports

Nigeria’s 4x400m mixed relay, 4×400 teams qualify for Olympics

Published

24 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Team Nigeria on Sunday morning booked two places at the upcoming Paris Olympics Games in the Mixed 4x400m relay and 4X400m men’s events with automatic qualification spots at the ongoing World Relays in the Bahamas.

The mixed 4x400m relay team which had the quartet of Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Chidi Okezie, and Esther Elo Joseph, picked the slot after finishing second behind the USA in their heat with a time of 3:13.79, to ensured Nigeria’s presence on the Olympic stage.

Both Nigeria and the US were a distance ahead of other in the heat and it was obvious as at the third leg that the race was between the two countries.

According to reports on the race, Okezie ran an impressive third leg in 44.78 to handover his baton first, but a US Olympics gold-medalist, Kendall Ellis, was too much for Esther Elo Joseph in the anchor leg as she led the United States to the finish line first.

Sports

Kenyan footballer arrested over brutal robbery, murder case

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

A Kenyan footballer, Byron Billy Owuor, has been arrested in connection with a violent robbery that led to the murder of a businesswoman in the Kondele area of Kisumu County of the country.

Owuor, a former Kisumu All-Stars player, was arrested after an AK47 rifle linked to violent robbery and murder was recovered and linked to him.

According to media reports, the 26-year-old midfielder was arrested along with another suspect for their alleged roles in a crime that has shocked the local community.

Police authorities confirmed that they seized the AK47 and 36 rounds of live ammunition linked to the robbery which took place on January 27th.

In a statement by the country’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the weapon was used to fatally shoot the business woman, Grace Awino Adero, who operated an M-Pesa shop with her husband.

“The assailants attacked the couple, making off with the day’s earnings and killing Mrs. Adero, while her husband narrowly survived the encounter,” the DCI said.

“The cold-blooded killers, believed to be part of a larger gang, fled the scene on an unmarked motorcycle, retreating to a hideout in Kasagam.

“Hours later, a suspicious saloon car was located by the Kasagam police during a routine patrol. Upon searching the vehicle, officers discovered a homemade pistol and four mobile phones, alongside an AK47 rifle without its magazine.

“The investigation revealed that the rifle had been obtained illegally from Uganda,” the DCI noted.

A media report stated that the case took a significant turn when detectives identified Robert Wakolo Okoth, also known as Michael Osama, as the alleged mastermind behind the syndicate’s criminal activities.

“Following this lead, a coordinated sting operation was conducted at Osama’s residence near Rai Primary School in Kasagam. During the raid, Osama’s 17-year-old brother, also believed to be a gang member, was arrested.

“The items recovered from the house include an AK47 magazine loaded with ammunition, six rounds of .38 special ammunition typically used in pistols, and five ID cards from different individuals.

“A green camouflage bag and a Kenya Armed Forces Comrades Association card were also found, pointing to the serious nature of the gang’s operations.

“With the arraignment at the Winam Senior Principal Magistrate’s Court, detectives have been granted an additional 14 days to wrap up their investigation.

“The focus now turns to capturing the remaining gang members whose identities have been uncovered but remain at large,” the statement said.