African players round up: Anguissa, Aubameyang off the mark in Europe
The international break proved to be a blessing in disguise for some of the African players based in Europe, who came back with more firepower after the brief sabbatical.
Senegalese starman Sadio Mane ended his goal dry spell in Bayern Munich’s emphatic win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off the mark for Chelsea, while Zambo Anguissa notched a brace for Napoli, his first goals in the Italian Serie A.
FARPost round sup how Africans plying their trade in Europe performed over the weekend.
Zambo Anguissa [Napoli]
In the absence of Victor Osimhen, Cameroon midfielder Anguissa was the toast of the day after notching a brace in Napoli’s 3-1 win over Torino.
These were his first goals since joining the Serie A club. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored the third goal as Napoli remains in top contention. Antonio Sanabria got the consolation goal for Torino.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang [Chelsea]
Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first goal for Chelsea since joining the club in a dramatic encounter where the blues came back from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1.
Odsonne Edouard opened the scoring for Crystal Palace after seven minutes, and Aubameyang restored parity 30 minutes later.
Conor Gallagher had the final say in the match after his brilliant 90th-minute strike all but sealed maximum points for Chelsea.
Joe Aribo [Southampton]
Nigerian forward Joe Aribo continues to punch above weight in his maiden English Premier League season for Southampton.
The lanky forward beat Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with a brilliant left-footer in the 49th minute.
However, his team crumbled like a deck of cards as Everton relentlessly hit back through Conor Coady and Dwight McNeil in four minutes.
Serhou Guirassy [Stuggart] and Omar Marmoush [ Wolfsburg]
Guinea forward Serhou Guirassy was on target for VFB Stuggart, albeit on a losing note when they lost to 3-2 at the hands of Wolfsburg.
Omar Marmoush of Egypt also broke his Wolfsburg scoring duck with his team’s equaliser after Guirassy goal.
Sadio Mane [Bayern Munich]
Finally, Sadio Mane remembered how to score for Bayern Munich after benefitting from a Jamal Musiala set-up as the German giants demolished Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Friday.
Musiala scored once before carving out assists for Leroy Sane and Sadio Mane in the first half as Bayern Munich returned to winning ways after three draws and a defeat. Thomas Muller scored their fourth goal in the second half.
Zakaria Aboukhlal [Toulouse]
On Sunday, Moroccan International Zakaria Aboukhlal joined the party as Toulouse beat Montpellier in a six-goal thriller.
Toulouse won 4-2 courtesy of goals scored by Stijn Spierings, Zakaria Aboukhlal, Fares Chaibi and Brecht Dejaegere.
The match was, however, marred by controversy as play was stopped for about 15 minutes after tear gas was thrown in the terraces.
Jodel Dossou [Clermont]
Recently promoted outfit Clermont returned from the two-week break on a winning note after beating Ajaccio 3-1 in a French Ligue 1 match.
Elbasan Rashani and Benin international Jodel Dossou scored a goal each in quick succession in the 89th and 90th minute, respectively, to claim maximum points over the other league newbies.
Grejohn Kyei had scored Clermont’s first goal after 11 minutes, and Cedric Avinel restored parity at the 70-minute mark.
M’baye Niang [Auxerre] and Islam Slimani [Brest]
Senegalese striker M’Baye Niang scored from a penalty to secure a point for Auxerre as they played out to a 1-1 draw against Brest.
Niang scored in the 86th minute for 10-men Auxerre, who were trailing courtesy of a goal scored by Algerian striker Islam Slimani after 64 minutes.