Iheanacho, Onuachu remain Nigeria’s scoring sensations
Kelechi Iheanacho and Paul Onuachu are still at their best as they made a remarkable showing for their respective clubs in the last seven days, scoring at will in the European football league.
The two Nigerians are consistent in their quest to boost their high-flying profile with their clubs.
Snubbed Super Eagles, Onuachu is a pillar of strength to Belgian club, Genk when he powered them to the final of the Belgian Cup after scoring yet again in his side’s 2-1 triumph over Anderlecht at the Lotto Park on Sunday evening.
Vincent Kompany’s men held the home advantage in Brussels, but it was Onuachu who struck the first blow in Brussels to hand Genk the opening goal as he netted his second goal in the cup competition.
Iheanacho continued to blaze a trail with his first Premier League hat-trick to score on Sunday and helped Leicester win 5-0 against Sheffield United to consolidate their place in the top four.
Iheanacho made the day a nightmare start for Paul Heckingbottom’s interim tenure. The coach replaced the departed Chris Wilder late on Saturday, with Sheffield United mustering just one shot on target at the King Power Stadium and they suffered their heaviest defeat of the season.
Iheanacho (39) opened things up in the first half as he tapped home a sweeping Jamie Vardy cross to score in three successive Premier League games for the first time.
The striker’s hat-trick goal was a beauty to behold as he powered home from 25 yards out, before Vardy’s cross was turned home by Ethan Ampadu at close range to round off a bruising defeat for Sheffield United.
It’s a vital win for Leicester, who are now eight points clear of West Ham in fifth.
Former Nigeria forward, Victor Moses also proved his mettle by hitting the back of the net for Spartak Moscow for a big derby win over city rivals Dinamo Moscow. It was a fine strike which has kept Spartak within striking distance of leaders Zenit Saint Petersburg as the race for the Russian championship continues to gather steam.
Henry Onyekuru has continued to prove he is truly at home in Turkey when he came off the bench to score twice for Galatasaray to win 3-0 at Kayeserispor and close in on Super Lig leaders Besiktas. He has now scored five goals since his arrival from Ligue 1 club AS Monaco, who he barely playing time. Hopefully, ‘Gala’ will get the cash to buy him on a permanent basis at the end of the season.
Moses Simon’s contributions are intact for FC Nantes when they posted a famous shock win at champions PSG with their Nigeria star accounting for the winning goal. The win has handed ‘The Canaries’ a lifeline in their fight to escape relegation just a season after they even came close to qualifying for Europe. The win in Paris will most certainly give Moses Simon and his team the self-belief they could still be safe by season’s end.
Asisat Oshoala found the back of the net for Barcelona as they maintained their incredible winning run in the Spanish Primera Iberdrola with a 5-0 victory over Valencia on Sunday.
Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye kept another clean sheet for Sparta Rotterdam in the Dutch topflight after Saturday’s 2-0 home victory over Waaleijk.
The 20-year-old was impressive for Henk Fraser’s led side as they made it a back-to-back win in the Dutch Eredivisie since December.
Another Nigerian, Alex Iwobi played his 151st match in the Premier League, but he would have hoped for a better result on this milestone day as Everton fell 2-1 at home to Burnley Saturday.
He played the entire game against Burnley and in his “preferred” No 10 position.
Iwobi, 24, made his Premier League debut on October 31, 2015, when Arsenal cruised past hosts Swansea 3-0.
In these 151 appearances, he started 105 matches and was brought on in 46 other games.
Iwobi was also subbed off 77 times.