African players in Europe: Diop’s dramatic La Liga winner
Senegalese Papa Diop stole the show from Africa's big guns in Europe at the weekend by snatching a dramatic winner for mid-table La Liga side Eibar.
Lebo Mothiba of Strasbourg
The 32-year-old defensive midfielder’s bullet stoppage-time header earned his team a 2-1 home victory over high-flying Alaves, who lie fourth in the Spanish league and are just four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Diop takes the headlines for African talent as the usual scene-stealers like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane of Liverpool and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired blanks with no African scoring in the English Premier League.
England
ALEX IWOBI/PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG (Arsenal)
Iwobi upstaged the normally free-scoring Aubameyang, Mane and Salah as the Nigerian international came off the bench to set up Alexandre Lacazette’s late equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw against Liverpool. After five goals in his previous three league games, Aubameyang was surprisingly substituted as Arsenal sought an equaliser.
SADIO MANE/MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)
Arsenal kept Salah and Mane at bay at the other end. Senegalese Mane did, though, have a hand in Liverpool’s goal as it was his cross that was deflected into the path of James Milner by Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno, allowing his England international teammate to open the scoring.
Spain
PAPA DIOP (Eibar)
Diop scored a 91st-minute winner as Eibar beat Alaves 2-1 in La Liga. His header proved the difference at Ipurua after he darted in to meet Joan Jordan’s corner at the near post. The Senegalese lay flat on the ground as his team-mates rushed over to celebrate.
Italy
IBRAHIMA MBAYE (Bologna)/MUSA BARROW (Atalanta)
Senegalese defender Mbaye turned scorer for the second consecutive game, opening for Bologna at home against Atalanta after just three minutes. But the hosts fell 2-1 to the side from Bergamo whose Gambian striker Barrow missed a chance to equalise before half-time. Barrow was substituted by Duvan Zapata after the break with the Colombian scoring the winner.
NICHOLAS OPOKU (Udinese)
A blunder by Ghanaian defender Opoku allowed AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli to snatch a later winner after 97 minutes in Udine. “You can’t give the ball away cheaply and make mistakes like that in the final minute,” said angry Udinese coach Julio Velazquez after Opoku was caught in possession by Spaniard Suso. Opoku’s woes were compounded when he took a knock and could miss Ghana’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia this month.
KALIDOU KOULIBALY (Napoli)
Towering Senegalese defender Koulibaly broke from his own half after nine minutes to serve Lorezno Insigne, who scored the opener for Napoli in a 5-1 thrashing of Empoli. The 27-year-old’s only error at the San Paolo Stadium was punished when he failed to peg back Francesco Caputo, who scored for Empoli.
Germany
NABIL BENTALEB (Schalke 04)
Algeria’s former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder drilled home a second-half penalty to open the scoring in Schalke’s 3-1 home win against Hanover 96. Bentaleb nailed the spot kick, his second league goal of the season, after striker Mark Uth was brought down.
JEAN-PHILIPPE GBAMIN (Mainz 05)
The Ivory Coast winger scored Mainz’s second superb goal in a 2-1 win at home to Werder Bremen to seal his team’s first win since mid-September. Gbamin collected a throw-in, then darted towards goal before driving an unstoppable effort into the bottom corner of Bremen’s goal to cap the win.
France
DENIS BOUANGA (Nimes)
The Gabon winger scored twice as promoted Nimes cemented their mid-table position with a 4-0 victory at Dijon. Bouanga grabbed his first after just two minutes with Dijon coach Olivier Dall’Oglio blaming an “individual error”. Bouanga, part of the Gabon squad at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, hit his second in the 65th minute.
LEBO MOTHIBA (Strasbourg)/MAX-ALAIN GRADEL (Toulouse)
Africans scored both goals as Strasbourg and Toulouse drew 1-1 with South African Mothiba giving the hosts a 51st-minute lead through his seventh Ligue 1 goal of the season and Ivorian Gradel levelling.
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