PETER OLAYINKA NETS FIRST DERBY GOAL
Peter Olayinka was on target in the 304th Prague derby as Slavia hammered bitter rivals Sparta 4-0 at Fortuna Arena. Three minutes into first half stoppage time, Olayinka fired the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper to wrap up the scoring. His first league goal against Sparta Praha since moving to Czech Republic. The big victory took them five points clear of their rivals as they took control of second spot in the league table.
Moses Usor also came on for his first derby appearance with Yira Sor an unused sub in the fixture.
ANOTHER IWOBI SHOW
Everton up against Crystal Palace was a fixture that pitted the in form Alex Iwobi against Eberechi Eze, a player some section of Nigeria football fans would love and hope to see play for the Super Eagles. It was Alex Iwobi who ran the show at the Goodison Park with another scintillating performance, providing two assists and eventually winning the man of the match prize.
Everton’s chief architect has provided five assists in the league so far this season, earning Everton 10 of their 13 points. Only Kevin De Bruyne (9) has more than his Premier League assists total this season.
BANG! BANG! ONUACHU
Paul Onuachu delivered a man-of-the-match performance with a brilliant brace to spur KRC Genk to a deserving 3-1 win at Royal Antwerp on Sunday afternoon. The top of the table clash against Alhassan Yusuf’s Royal Antwerp was a hugely anticipated fixture and it lived up to the billing.
He hit the target in the 33rd minute to make it two-nil for the visitors, Vincent Janssen halved the deficit for Antwerp just before halftime. However, Onuachu had the last laugh as he powered home a header off the post midway into the second half. It was all Genk needed to claim all three points and establish a four-point advantage over Antwerp. With his latest brace, Onuachu has now scored eight goals in his last five matches. Not bad for a guy who did not score a goal in his first five league matches.
LEON, EKONG, AINA ON TARGET
Defenders Leon Balogun, William Troost Ekong & Ola Aina also scored crucial goals for their respective teams as they claimed all three points.
For Leon Balogun it was his first goal for QPR against his former side and it proved to be the winner in an impressive defensive display against Wigan in the Championship. High flying Queens Park Rangers are top of the English Championship with 30 points from 16 games so far.
Elsewhere in the Championship, William Troost Ekong is getting his groove back under new manager Slaven Bilic at the Vicarage road after scoring his first goal of the season for Watford in their huge home 4-0 derby win over Luton Town. He has started the last 5 games for Watford, four under new manager Slaven Bilic.
And in Italy, Ola Aina opened the scoring for Torino in their 1-2 away win over high flying Udinese. The versatile defender found games hard to come by earlier this year at Torino but it has been a commendable turn around this season as he has featured 10 times in the league so far, starting seven.
OSIMHEN STRIKES AGAIN
For the third game running since making his return from injury, Victor Osimhen gets on the scoresheet as he has so far showed no signs of backing down to the strong striking competition at Serie A league leaders Napoli. His brilliant taken goal at the Stadio Olympico was one to behold and cherish as it came at a crucial point of the game clinching all three points away at Jose Mourinho’s Roma setting a new Partenopei record of 11 straight victories.
The hard-fought win at the Stadio Olimpico moved them three points clear at the top of the table. The last time Napoli recorded 10 straight victories was in 1986 when the late Diego Maradona was captain.
TAIWO AWONIYI PUNISH FORMER EMPLOYERS
Taiwo Awoniyi produced the match-winner for Forest as they condemned Jurgen Klopp’s side to a slim 1-0 loss at the City Ground on Saturday. Awoniyi revealed earlier in the season that he was looking forward to facing the Merseysiders and boy he did deliver.
“I think this team will stick together; we’re a family; the fans are always with us; we just have to keep on going,” Awoniyi told BT Sport post-match, as quoted by The Mirror. “I was looking forward to playing Liverpool because they signed me when I was 18 and it was an emotional game for me. For me, I think it’s a good game for my team. We had the plan to stay compact, and in the end, we won. I’m very happy about it.”
The Super Eagles striker has now scored the winning goal for both their home wins but observed a muted goal celebration after six years as a Liverpool player.
In Turkey, Babajide David scored for the second game in a row in Adana’s 1-1 draw with Konyaspor. Innocent Bonke provides an assist in an impressive midfield display for Lorient in France while Silas Nwankwo scored his 8th goal of the season in Mjallby’s big home win.
