Nigeria Players Abroad
Gift Monday bags brace, Rinsola Babajide shines as Tenerife thrash Deportivo in 2025 league opener
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Nigeria duo of Gift Monday and Rinsola Babajide contributed four goals as Costa Adeje Tenerife thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 5-1 in a league match on Saturday.
The first match of the Spanish Liga F in 2025 saw Henar Muina Asla opening the scoring for the visitors in the 25th minute at the Football Field Adeje.
The half-time team talk worked wonders, as the second-half performance from the host was nothing short of superb, with five goals.
Monday started the comeback in the 51st minute and put her side ahead for the first time in the 64th minute from Sandra Castello’s assist.
Her compatriot, Babajide made it 3-1 from Claudia Blanco’s assist in the 69th minute.
Polish player Aleksandra Zaremba scored the fifth goal of the encounter before Babajide set up Morocco’s Sakina Ouzraoui Diki, who rounded up the goals for Tenerife.
Gift played the duration of the match as she increased her tally to six goals with two assists from 12 games.
Babajide was replaced by Maria Perez in the 81st minute. She has scored five goals and two assists in the league for Costa Adeje Tenerife.
The victory lifted Tenerife to the sixth position on the log with 20 points after 14 games, recovering from a 6-2 loss to holders FC Barcelona last December.
They will face Edna Imade’s Granada in another league match on January 18, 2025.
