BUSINESS END: Awoniyi, Aina survive, adebayo, osho relegated News

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BUSINESS END: Awoniyi, Aina survive, adebayo, osho relegated

By Daily Sports Nigeria on May 20, 2024

•Onyedika nears title in Belgium

As leagues in Europe and some other parts of the world are coming to an end, Nigerian players are prominent in the permutations with Raphael Onyedika chasing a 19th league title for Club Brugge in Belgium while some other Nigerians were involved in relegation battles on the final day of the EPL in England, ABIODUN ADEWALE reports

ENGLAND

AWONIYI, AINA (NOTTINGHAM FOREST)

Taiwo Awoniyi came on as a late substitute for goal scorer Chris Wood while Ola Aina wasn’t listed as Nottingham Forest secured safety in the English Premier League for the second successive season. They needed at least a point to be safe and it was Wood who delivered both goals within the first 15 minutes of their game against Burnley at Turf Moor. Awoniyi’s season has been hampered by injury as the striker was limited to six goals and three assists in 20 games this season.

OSHO, ADEBAYO, ONYEDINMA (LUTON)

Awoniyi and Aina’s safety meant three other Nigerians at Luton, Gabriel Osho, Elijah Adebayo and Fred Onyedinma were relegated to the Championship, after just one season in the Premier League. They needed to beat Fulham by at least 12 goals with the hope that Burnley would also beat Forest, but all that didn’t happen as they suffered a 4-2 defeat in the hands of Fulham at home. Osho finished the game; Adebayo was substituted in the closing stages while Onyedinma was an unused substitute. The brightest among them is Adebayo who, despite a two-month injury absence finished the season with 10 goals followed by Osho who has two despite being a defender.

IWOBI, BASSEY (FULHAM)

Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey played from start to finish as Fulham dashed Luton’s survival hopes with a 4-2 hammering. As Fulham finished 13th in the table, Iwobi contributed five goals and two assists to that run just as Bassey also had one goal to his credit in 29 games.

ITALY

OKOYE, SUCCESS (UDINESE)

Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye continued to keep his place between the sticks for Udinese in the Italian Serie A, just as his compatriot Isaac Success is still looking for another goal since breaking his over one-year jinx two weeks ago. Okoye however failed to keep a clean sheep as they were held to a 1-1- draw by Empoli. Success played seven minutes in the game.

THE NETHERLANDS

CHUBA AKPOM (AJAX)

Unlike before, Akpom was started alongside preferred striker Brian Brobbery in a 4-3-3 formation for Ajax, as they played out a 2-2 draw in their last game of the season against Vitesse. Akpom played the entire duration but couldn’t add to his 11 goals and three assists as Ajax ended their underwhelming campaign in fifth position and will play in next season’s Europa League.

BELGIUM

RAPHAEL ONYEDIKA (CLUB BRUGGE)

In a potential title decider at Lotto Park, Onyedika and his Club Brugge teammates took the scalp of Anderlecht with a 1-0 win against their fellow title challengers. Both teams were tied on 46 points before the game and the win saw Brugge move close to the title and stay three points above them ahead of the final rounds of matches next week. Ghana’s Denis Odoi scored for Brugge.

DENMARK

STEPHEN ODEY (RANDERS)

Former MFM striker, Odey, played for 83 minutes but fired blanks as Randers suffered a 2-0 defeat at Odense. Regardless of the result, Randers are safe from relegation. Odey has scored four goals and provided two assists so far this season.

TURKEY

BRIGHT OSAYI-SAMUEL (FENERBAHÇE)

Osayi-Samuel was involved all through as Fenerbahce beat leaders Galatasaray 1-0 away from home and cut the gap between them to three points with one game left in the Turkish Super Lig. As it is, Osayi-Samuel and his teammates will hope they can sneak from second place to win the title next week as they face Istanbulspor in their last game while Gala are away at Konyaspor. The leaders still hold a three-point with 96 points as well as a two-goal difference.

USA

UCHENNA KANU (RACING LOUISVILLE)

Kanu came off the bench and was involved for 11 minutes as Racing Louisville forced a 3-3 draw against Kansas City Current in the National Women’s Soccer League. She put in a good shift to ensure the draw although she could not add to her tally of four goals in eight games this season.

SATURDAY

ITALY

JENNIFER ECHEGINI (JUVENTUS)

Jennifer Echegini was the star, netting a goal and assisting another to power Juventus to a 3-2 win at Sassuolo in the last match of the Italian Serie A Women. Juventus finished the season second behind champions Roma and qualified for the UEFA Champions League. Echegini ended the campaign as the joint-top scorer during the championship round with six goals. Overall, the Super Falcons star bagged 10 goals in only 14 league games for Juventus in her first season as a professional.

SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE (AC MILAN)

In Serie A, Chukwueze was listed as injured and sidelined for AC Milan’s trip to Torino where they fell to a 3-1 defeat. He remains a big potential absentee ahead of Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin in June.

ADEMOLA LOOKMAN (ATALANTA)

At the Stadio Ettore Giardiniero, Ademola Lookman was an unused substitute as Atalanta clinched a 2-0 win at Lecce to secure a top-four finish and qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The winger and Atalanta lost the Coppa Italia final against Juventus last week and will hope to clinch a piece of silverware in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday in
Dublin.

BELGIUM

JORDAN TORUNARIGHA (GENT)

Torunarigha returned to the starting lineup for Gent and put in a strong performance for Gent in their 4-1 Jupiler League Europa Conference playoff victory over Standard Liège. The defender has one goal and two assists in 31 league games this season.

CYPRUS

FRANCIS UZOHO (OMONIA)

Goalkeeper Uzoho and Omonia Nicosia were far from their best as they fell to a disappointing 3-0defeat in the hands of Pafos in the final of their FA Cup. The goalkeeper has now made eight consecutive appearances for the club in all competitions since taking the place of injured Brazilian goalkeeper Fabiano in April.

GERMANY

BONIFACE, TELLA (BAYER LEVERKUSEN)

Victor Boniface scored Bayer Leverkusen’s first goal in their 2-1 win over FC Augsburg to end the Bundesliga campaign unbeaten and become the first German club to do so. The striker also ended his first year in the Bundesliga with 14 goals and nine assists in 23 games and claimed the Bundesliga Rookie of The Season award earlier in the week as well. Tella was an unused substitute in the game and the former winger also contributed five goals and two assists to Leverkusen’s run.

PORTUGAL

AWAZIEM, ONYEMAECHI (BOAVISTA)

Bruno Onyemaechi returned from injury to star alongside Chidozie Awaziem in Boavista’s exciting 2-2 Primera Liga draw with Vizela.

SCOTLAND

DESSERS, BALOGUN (RANGERS)

Cyriel Dessers assisted one of Rangers’ goals in their thrilling 3-3 draw away to Hearts as the Gers settled for a runners-up spot behind Premiership champions Celtic. He has now contributed goals in three consecutive games, ending the league with 16 goals and four assists. Dessers and Celtic will have another chance to win a trophy when they face Celtic in their FA Cup final on Saturday.

TURKEY

PAUL ONUACHU (TRABZONSPOR)

Onuachu scored his 15th Süper Lig goal of the season against Istanbul Basaksehir and that was enough to hand Trabzonspor a 1-0 away win with one game to the end of the season. The striker’s goal came on the stroke of halftime. Thanks to the win, Trabzonspor hold a two-point lead ahead of Basakehir in the tussle for a Europa Conference League spot.

FISAYO DELE-BASHIRU (HATAYASPOR)

Dele-Bashiru also fired Hatayspor into a two-goal lead at Besiktas but Vincent Aboubakar scored a stoppage-time penalty to rescue a 2-2 draw for the home side. The result left Hatayaspor and Dele-Bashiru scampering for safety with one game left to play.

OLAWOYIN, AKINTOLA (RIZESPOR)

Ibrahim Olawoyin and David Akintola both played the entire duration as Rizespor played out a goalless draw at home against Kenneth Omerou’s Kasimpasa in their penultimate game of the season. Akintola was cautioned in the course of the game. The striker who joined them in January has one goal and two assists while Olawoyin has eight goals and three assists.

Source Punch Ng

Posted May 20, 2024