Competitive football has returned in Europe, and many Nigerian stars are in the middle of the action
Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi played all 90 minutes for Everton in their tough 1-0 loss to Fulham at Goodison Park, Soccernet reports.
The Premier League returned on Friday, and serious action has begun. Nigerian midfielder Iwobi was in action for Everton when they welcomed Fulham to Merseyside in their opening game of the season.
Iwobi played an important role at Everton last season, playing all 38 of their Premier League games. And in Sean Dyche’s first full season at the club, the 27-year-old is expected to play a vital role.
Unfortunately for Iwobi, things did not go as planned in Everton’s opening game of the season. Against Fulham, the Toffees huffed and puffed, but nothing concrete came out of it.
Iwobi had a good game, and he was influential in everything the Toffees did. He registered 50 touches and had an 87 percent pass accuracy for his side. The Nigerian midfielder also registered four attempts on goal, one of which almost gave Everton the lead late in the game. But his effort was saved by Bernd Leno, who showed his agility in the Fulham goal.
Unfortunately for Everton, a lapse in concentration ensured that Bobby De Cordova-Reid put Fulham in front after 73 minutes. The goal turned out to be the match-winner as it ended 1-0 in favour of the visitors.
Meanwhile, in Germany, it was a different tale for another Nigerian player. Victor Boniface scored his first competitive goal for Bayer Leverkusen in their 8-0 demolition of Teutonia Ottensen in the DFB Pokal.
Boniface just joined his German side two weeks ago, but he has been really impressive so far. He scored for the club in their last pre-season friendly last week, and he followed it up with another goal in his first domestic game.
After Edmond Tapsoba put Die Werkself in front in the 16th minute, Boniface swiftly followed his with a second in the 42nd minute.
Goals from Florian Wirtz, Amine Adil, Jeremie Frimpong, Adam Hlozek(2), and Jonas Hofmann completed the 8-0 win for Bayer Leverkusen.
They will begin their Bundesliga campaign next week with a fixture against RB Leipzig.