Sports

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

Published

2 years ago

October 4, 2022

With the return of football after the international break, African stars plying their trade in Europe returned to action for their clubs with bags of mixed results.

Some picked up where they stopped and gave man of the match performances while others could not live up to their high expectations.

Arsenal’s Ghanaian midfielder, Thomas Partey stood out of the bunch when the Gunners took on North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur where he scored a beautiful screamer to put the league leaders ahead.

Partey scored a screamer against Spurs (Photo Credit: Arsenal FC)

Nigerian star, Alex Iwobi once again, showed Everton fans that his season is no flash in the pan as he was instrumental to Frank Lampard’s men coming back from one goal down to defeat Southampton 2-1.

Apart from action in the EPL, African players were also in action in top European leagues like the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, Dutch Eredivisie, and the Ligue 1.

Africannewswatch brings you review of some of the good and the bad of African players in Europe last weekend.

Too Good

Thomas Partey – Arsenal

Ghana international, Thomas Partey was the cynosure of all eyes when he returned to action at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal took on their eternal rivals, Tottenham, in a North London derby on Saturday which saw the Gunners thrash the Whites 3-1.

The 29-year-old was on hand to give the Gunners the lead when he curled home an effort from 25 yards which whizzed past Hugo Lloris to nestle in the top corner.

Further goals by Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka sandwiched Harry Kane penalty goal which had cancelled out Partey’s opener, ensuring Arsenal claimed the derby bragging rights.

Interestingly, Arsenal have won every match Partey has featured in this season and his injury-induced absence was felt as Arsenal suffered their only defeat of the season, a 3-1 against Manchester United.

Alex Iwobi – Everton

Nigerian midfield star, Alex Iwobi picked up where he stopped before the international break when he put up another man of the match performance as Everton ran out deserved 2-1 winners away to Southampton.

The Arsenal youth product who scored against Algeria in an international friendly, had his third assist of the season as he had a hand in Everton’s winning the goal scored by Dwight McNeil.

Sadio Mane – Bayern Munich

Sadio Mané ended his goal drought for Bayern Munich in the 4-0 drubbing of Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, after going over six matches without a goal.

The Teranga Lion’s vice captain grabbed the third goal, his fourth in the league, in the one sided match after Leroy Sane and Jamel Musiala had put the Bavarians in front.

The win also ended Bayern’s four match winless run in the Bundesliga.

Inaki Williams was in superb form for Atletico Bilbao(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Inaki Williams – Athletic Bilbao

New Ghana international, Inaki Williams who made his international debut against Brazil during the international break, returned to his club with a goal and an assist Athletic Bilbao defeated UD Almeria 4-0 in a La Liga match on Saturday.

The 28-year-old former Spain youth international celebrated his international call up with the opening goal for Bilbao after he was set up by his brother, Nico Williams, who also set up Oihan Sancet to double Bilbao’s lead.

Inaki then turned provider with a clever assist to brother Nico, who scored the third.

Ademola Lookman – Atalanta

In the Italian Serie A, Nigerian winger, Ademola Lookman was the hero for Atalanta as the pipped Fiorentina 1-0 on m Sunday.

The Nigerian international returned to action after the Algerian friendlies and got the only goal on the hour mark at the Gewiss Stadium, beating Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano with a simple tap in off an assist by Luis Muriel.

Ademola Lookman was the difference for Atalanta (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The goal was Lookman’s second Serie A goal of the 2022-23 campaign.

Too Bad

Taiwo Awoniyi, Emmanuel Dennis – Nottingham Forest

The duo of Taiwo Awoniyi and Emmanuel Dennis were at the receiving end when Nottingham Forest suffered a 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Leicester City who grounded out their first EPL win of the season on Monday.

While Awoniyi was on from the start and hit the woodwork in the first half, Dennis was a second half substitute but even his presence could not change The Reds fortunes as they suffered their fifth straight defeat.

Mohammed Kudus – Ajax

Ghana international, Mohammed Kudus could not replicate the form that saw him scoring in three straight Eredivisie matches, as he failed to extend that run of as Go Ahead Eagles held Ajax to a surprise 1-1 draw at home at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Saturday.

Kudus who started from the bench, was brought on by coach Alfred Schreuder for Ghana-eligible Brian Brobbey with seven minutes left on the clock and could not find the target.

Ghana and Agax midfielder, Mohammed Kudus (Photo Credit: Ajax FC)

Prior to the fixture, he had scored against Cambuur in a 4-0 win, Heerenveen in the 5-0 victory and the 2-1 defeat against AZ Alkmaar. In between the league matches, he was on target against Rangers and Liverpool in the Champions League.

Samuel Chukwueze – Villarreal

Nigerian winger, Samuel Chukwueze was quite disappointing as Villarreal were held to a 0-0 draw by Cardiz at the Nuevo Mirandilla Stadium where his La Liga goal drought in the 2022-23 La Liga campaign continued.

Chukwueze who was left in the bench for 83 minutes was brought on for his seventh league match of the season as a replacement for Nicolas Jackson, but he put every foot wrong and could not add any impact for the Yellow Submarines .

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Sports

Kenyan footballer arrested over brutal robbery, murder case

Published

14 hours 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.

Sports

Liverpool legend Graham Souness wants ‘selfish’ Salah to leave club

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

One of the legends of English Premier League club, Liverpool, Graeme Souness, wants Egyptian star, Mohamed Salah, to leave the club due to his “extreme selfish” nature.

Souness who was reacting to the celebrated touchline dispute between Salah and manager Jurgen Klopp during the club’s league match against West Ham last weekend, described Salah as the most selfish player he has ever seen.

Salah got into trouble with Liverpool fans when he was preparing to come on as a substitute, having been selected on the bench for the second time in three games.

Video footage that captured the scene showed Klopp walking up to the Egyptian and whisper something in his ear but whatever the manager said seemed to infuriate Salah who flared up leading to an exchange of words between the duo.

The two have played down the confrontation with Klopp insisting that whatever issue they had has been “completely resolved.”

Klopp who spoke on Friday at a press conference ahead of Liverpool’s home match with Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, insisted that his spat with the star forward would not damage to their relationship going forward.

“If we wouldn’t know each other for that long, I don’t know how we would deal with it, but we know each other for that long and respect each other too much that it’s really no problem,” Klopp said.

“In general, the best situation would be everybody is in the best possible place, we win games, we score lots of goals.

“Yes, then the situation with Salah would probably not have been exactly like that. Then Mo wouldn’t have been on the bench in the first place,” the manager said.

However, while speaking on William Hill’s Three Up Front podcast on Friday, Souness called Salah a selfish player and expects him to leave Liverpool.

“Salah is the most selfish player I have ever witnessed. Even before that game, whenever Klopp takes him off, he is never happy about it,” Souness said.

“That is what you want from your players; if you take them off on two goals, they should want to stay on to score a third. When Sadio Mane was there, they’d fall out all the time,” Souness added.