Africans Abroad: Simy Bags Brace as Lookman and En-Nesyri Shine

African footballers delivered standout performances across Europe with goals in La Liga, Serie A, and the Turkish Super Lig.

Spain

Youssef En-Nesyri scored for Sevilla in their 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in a tightly contested LaLiga match. Sevilla, having lost their last three league games, hosted Barcelona at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with hopes of breaking their losing streak but fell short.

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Robert Lewandowski gave Barcelona a 15th-minute lead with an assist from Joao Cancelo. En-Nesyri equalized for Sevilla in the 31st minute, marking his 18th goal of the season. However, Barcelona secured the win with Fermin Lopez’s 59th-minute goal, assisted by Ilkay Gundogan. En-Nesyri was substituted in the 90th minute, and Sevilla concluded the 2023-24 season in 14th place with 41 points.

Italy

In Serie A, Nigeria’s Simy Nwankwo scored twice as Salernitana drew 3-3 against AC Milan. Despite their relegation, Salernitana delivered a spirited performance at the San Siro. AC Milan initially led with goals from Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud. Salernitana’s comeback began with Simy’s first goal at the 64th minute, assisted by Junior Samba, and he completed his brace in the 89th minute.

Ademola Lookman continued his scoring streak for Atalanta in their 3-0 win over Torino. Lookman scored his team’s second goal, following Gianluca Scamacca’s opener, and Mario Pasalic sealed the victory with a penalty. Lookman now has 10 Serie A goals this season.

At the Stadio Carlo Castellani, former Senegal international M’Baye Niang scored and Ghana’s Emmanuel Gyasi provided an assist as Empoli defeated AS Roma 2-1. Gyasi assisted Matteo Cancellier’s 13th-minute goal, while Houssem Aouar equalized for Roma. Niang’s last-minute goal secured the win for Empoli.

Germany

Ivory Coast’s Odilon Kossounou was sent off as Bayer Leverkusen won the German Cup, defeating Kaiserslautern 1-0. Despite Kossounou’s ejection for two yellow cards, Granit Xhaka’s goal ensured Leverkusen’s victory. Victor Boniface (Nigeria), Amine Adli (Morocco), Nathan Tella (Nigeria), Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), and Ayman Aourir (Morocco) also received winners’ medals.

Turkey

In the Turkish Super Lig, two African players scored as Sivasspor defeated Kayserispor 2-1. Fode Koita opened the scoring for Sivasspor in the ninth minute, assisted by Murat Paluli. Kayserispor’s Ghanaian international Joseph Attamah equalized in the 24th minute, but Sivasspor won with Mijo Caktas’ 53rd-minute goal.

Nigeria’s Bright Osayi-Samuel scored in Fenerbahce’s 6-0 thrashing of Istanbulspor. Despite goals from Edin Dzeko, Sebastian Szymanski, and Dusan Tadic, Osayi-Samuel’s contribution highlighted Fenerbahce’s dominance. However, their victory couldn’t secure the league title, as Galatasaray won their match against Konyaspor.

Additionally, Nigeria’s Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored for Hatayspor in their 2-0 victory over Rizespor. Dele-Bashiru opened the scoring in the third minute, and Carlos Strandberg sealed the win in the 57th minute.