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

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It was another weekend of scintillating football action as African football stars filed out for their respective clubsides in different leagues and competitions in Europe.

While some came out smiling, others had no reason to laugh due to poor individual performances or their team’s performance.

In the EPL, Riyad Mahrez missed a crucial penalty for Manchester City that would have seen them defeat West Ham and place the league title firmly in their hands.

For the African quartet in Liverpool, Sadio Mane, Naby Keita, Joel Matip, and Mohamed Salah, it was a collective joy as they lifted another trophy this season after beating Chelsea which had Edouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech in the FA Cup.

We bring you a review of how African stars performed for their European clubs in the past weekend.

Too Good:

Victor Osimhen: Napoli

Super Eagles of Nigeria striker, Victor Osimhen, scored his 14th Serie A goal of the season when he fired Napoli to a 3-0 victory over Genoa.

The Lagos-born Osimhen got his club’s opener in the 32nd minute before Lorenzo Insigne and Stanislav Lobotka, also got on the score sheet to take the match out of Genoa’s reach.

Taiwo Awoniyi: Union Berlin

Taiwo Awoniyo was the hero for Union Berlin with a brace as his German club ran out 3-2 winners against Bochum in their last Bundesliga game of the season.

Awoniyi got Berlin’s second goal from the penalty spot in the 25th minute before netting the third in the 88th minute as they finished the season fifth on 57 points.

Jeffrey Schlupp, Marc Guehi: Crystal Palace

Jeffrey Schlupp and Marc Guehi were instrumental for the Eagles as they both combined to produce Palace’s equalizer against Aston Villa in the 81st minute after Steven Gerrard’s men had taken a 69th-minute lead.

Schlupp got the equaliser with an assist from Guehi just three minutes and 37 seconds after he came off the bench.

Schlupp has now scored five league goals as a substitute for Palace, with no player netting more such goals for the Eagles outside Dwight Gayle who also has five.

Too Bad:

Sadio Mane: Liverpool

Sadio Mané was on the ‘too bad’ list despite Liverpool winning the English FA Cup against Chelsea, as he missed his spot-kick in the shootout.

His national team mate Edouard Mendy managed to save Mane’s penalty but his blushes were saved as the Merseysiders went on to win the shoot-out contest by a 6-5 margin.

Salah was injured in the 33rd minute, while Keita was replaced as James Milner came on. Matip took Virgil van Dijk’s place when Jurgen Klopp made a 90th-minute change, while Mali-eligible Ibrahima Konate played from start to finish.

Edouard Mendy, Hakim Ziyech: Chelsea

Both Mendy and Ziyech were involved in the English FA Cup final loss to Liverpool.

They both played critical roles in the match as Mendy kept a clean sheet before the penalty shootout and stopped international teammate Mane from converting his penalty while Ziyech scored one of Chelsea’s penalties, but their efforts could not deny Liverpool the trophy at Wembley Stadium.

Samuel Kalu, Oghenekaro Etebo: Watford

Both Nigerian stars were involved as Watford confirmed their relegation from the EPL to the Championship when they suffered a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Leicester City at Vicarage Road.

While Kalu started and played the entire duration of the game, Etebo came on as a substitute as the Hornets suffered their 15th home league defeat of the season, the joint-most by any side in a single English top-flight campaign, level with Blackpool in 1966-67 and Stoke City in 1984-85.

Riyad Mahrez: Man City

The Algerian captain missed a penalty for Manchester City during their game against West Ham which ended in a 2-2 draw.

The Citizens had to fight back from 2-0 down, but Mahrez let them down with a missed penalty that would have given them the lead and kept the gap with Liverpool wider.

Mahrez has missed two penalties in all competitions for Manchester City, his first being against Liverpool in October 2018, and the miss against West Ham being the second. He has converted nine penalties since joining City from Leicester.

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Paris Olympics: Nigeria’s D’Tigress in ‘group of death’, to battle Australia, France, Canada

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Nigeria’s women national basketball team, D’Tigress, have been drawn in what many term the group of death after they were paired alongside Australia, France and Canada for this year’s Olympic Games coming up in Paris, France, in July.

The coach Rena Wakama tutored team will take on Australia in their opening Group B game at the competition on Monday, July 29, according to the fixture schedule released on Thursday by the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA).

The African champions will face the host France on August 1 before facing Canada on August 4.

D’Tigress are heading for their third appearance at the Olympic Games after making its debut at the games in Athens 2004, before a second appearance at Tokyo 2020.

In their two previous outings at the games D’Tigress failed to go beyond the group stages after losing all group matches but there are hopes that the current team could spring surprises owing to the pool of talents in the team and the cohesion they have managed to build.

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Tragedy as coach killed, players injured in Sierra Leone club bus crash

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One of the coaches of Sierra Leonean club, Port Authority FC, Lamine Bangoura, a former international, has been confirmed killed while several players sustained different degrees of injuries after the team bus was involved in an accident on Tuesday night when going for a football game.

According to a statement from the club management, the players and officials of the top flight clubside are still reeling from the effect of the accident.

A local media which reported on the devastating accident on Wednesday said:

“The Sierra Leonean football is in mourning. On Tuesday evening, the Port Authority FC bus was involved in an accident. Several first team players are injured and in critical condition after this tragedy.

“The worst was the death of the Port Authority FC coach, Lamine Bangoura, who did not survive after receiving a serious blow during the accident.

“The team was en route to Kenema for a crucial match against Kahunla Rangers when tragedy struck, leaving several members in critical condition.

“The accident, which occurred at Konta Line, has claimed the life of the former Sierra Leone international and team coach, Lamine Bangura.

“Lamine Bangura was a highly revered figure in Sierra Leonean football and leaves behind a legacy that transcends the sport.

“Despite the best efforts of medical personnel at Masiaka Hospital, Bangura succumbed to his injuries, leaving behind a void in Sierra Leonean football.”

The Sierra Leone Premier League Board, in a statement on Wednesday, expressed deep regret and sent condolences to the team.

“While details of the incident are still emerging, it has been confirmed that there were injuries sustained by individuals involved in the accident.

“Our immediate priority is the well-being and recovery of those affected by this unfortunate event,” the statement said.

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