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International Players Shine and Sit on Bench in Weekend Football Action
The weekend saw a mixed bag of performances and bench-warming for Nigerian international footballers across Europe’s top leagues. While some seized the opportunity to shine, others found themselves on the sideline.
In the English Premier League, Isaac Success made his first appearance in the matchday squad for Watford, although he remained an unused substitute in the Hornets’ goalless draw against Brighton & Hove Albion. Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi earned his third Premier League start of the season for Leicester City but couldn’t prevent a 2-0 defeat against Manchester United. Kelechi Iheanacho, fit enough to be on the bench, did not see any action, and Ahmed Musa was omitted from the matchday squad.
The match at Old Trafford witnessed goals from substitutes Marcus Rashford and Marouane Fellaini, securing a third straight league win for Manchester United.
In Spain, Kayode Olanrewaju came off the bench with nine minutes remaining in Girona’s 1-0 victory over Malaga, marking his second substitute appearance in La Liga. In the German Bundesliga, Victor Osimhen was not included in Wolfsburg’s squad for their 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, while Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun remained on the bench for Mainz 05 in their 1-0 loss to VfB Stuttgart.
In the Netherlands, new Nigeria defender Tyrone Ebuehi made his third start in the Eredivisie for ADO Den Haag, but they lost 2-1 to SC Heerenveen.
In Belgium, Nigerian striker Peter Olayinka scored his second goal of the season for Zulte-Waregem, despite their 3-2 loss to Sporting Charleroi. Moses Simon and Samuel Kalu played full 90 minutes for Gent, who lost 3-2 to Royal-Excel Mouscron.
In Portugal, Oghenekaro Etebo earned his first yellow card of the season while playing for Feirense, who defeated Chaves 2-0. Dele Alampasu remained on the bench.