Ademola Lookman headlined another dramatic weekend for Nigerian players abroad after making personal La Liga history with the winning goal in Atlético Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Girona.
The Super Eagles forward struck in the 20th minute at the Wanda Metropolitano, reacting quickest to a dangerous low cross from Antoine Griezmann to hand Diego Simeone’s side another important victory.
The goal also ensured Lookman scored in consecutive La Liga matches for the first time in his career, underlining his growing influence since arriving from Atalanta during the winter transfer window.
Ademola Lookman. Photocredit: Imago
The Nigerian attacker remained lively throughout the contest and even had another goal ruled out for offside before eventually leaving the pitch in the 63rd minute after another energetic display.
Elsewhere in Spain, Umar Sadiq continued his encouraging resurgence with Valencia after featuring in their thrilling 4-3 victory over his former club Real Sociedad.
The striker played 17 minutes as Valencia strengthened their push for a strong finish to the season.
Since completing a permanent move after his loan spell, Sadiq has steadily rebuilt confidence with four league goals and two assists in 19 appearances.
However, it proved a frustrating outing for Akor Adams and Chidera Ejuke as Sevilla fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Real Madrid.
Akor played the full match but could not add to his tally of 10 La Liga goals this season, while Ejuke featured for 37 minutes.
Paul Onuachu
In Türkiye, Paul Onuachu finished the season as joint top scorer in the Turkish Super Lig after ending level on 22 goals with Eldor Shomurodov of İstanbul Başakşehir.
The towering Nigerian striker failed to score for the seventh consecutive league game as Trabzonspor suffered a 3-0 defeat to Gençlerbirliği on the final day.
Despite missing out on the outright Golden Boot, Onuachu’s achievement remained remarkable considering he scored his 22 goals in only 29 league appearances, while Shomurodov needed 34 matches to reach the same mark.
Calvin Bassey against Wolves. Photocredit: Getty Images
In England, Taiwo Awoniyi continued rebuilding momentum despite Nottingham Forest’s 3-2 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Awoniyi featured for 21 minutes after recently returning to the lineup and scoring a brace against Chelsea.
However, fellow Super Eagles defender Ola Aina remains sidelined with injury and could face a race against time to recover before Nigeria’s upcoming Unity Cup fixtures.
At Molineux, Calvin Bassey celebrated his 100th appearance for Fulham during their 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The match also marked the return of Alex Iwobi from injury, while Samuel Chukwueze and Tolu Arokodare were also involved in the contest.
Arokodare endured another difficult outing, failing to improve on his modest tally of three league goals this season as Wolves edged closer to relegation.
READMORE: Bassey makes 100th Fulham appearance as Iwobi returns in Wolves draw
In Italy, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru returned for Lazio during their heated Rome derby defeat against Roma.
The midfielder came off the bench after missing Lazio’s Coppa Italia final loss to Inter Milan and played 29 minutes in the 2-0 defeat.
At Pisa, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro continued to gain valuable Serie A experience despite the club’s struggles, featuring in the 3-0 loss against Napoli.
Meanwhile, Maduka Okoye failed to extend his clean-sheet streak for Udinese after recently becoming the first Nigerian goalkeeper since Vincent Enyeama to register 10 clean sheets in a single season across Europe’s top five leagues.
Okoye conceded early against Cremonese after being beaten by former Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.
Rahpael Onyedika. Photo Credit: Imago
In Belgium, Raphael Onyedika moved closer to another league title after Club Brugge thrashed Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 5-0.
Although the Nigerian midfielder played only 16 minutes, Brugge extended their lead at the top to four points with just two matches remaining.
Onyedika has now made 30 league appearances this season as Brugge continue their push toward another Belgian league crown.
