Round up of Nigerians Abroad over the weekend

ENGLAND

John Obi Mikel was a second half substitute for Chelsea in their 3-0 drubbing of Aston Villa at the Stamford Bridge. Goals from Diego Costa, Oscar and Willian were all the Blues needed to remain atop the English Premier League.

Obi who replaced Oscar in the 77th minute has played three times this season for Jose Mourinho’s men.

Neither Brown Ideye nor Victor Anichebe was dressed for West Bromwich Albion's 4-0 spanking of Burnley in an English Premier League game played on Sunday.

A brace from Graham Dorrans and goals from Craig Dawson and Saido Berahino were all the baggies needed to make home advantage count at the Hawthorns. Both Nigerians have failed to find the back of the net for Alan Irvine’s side this season.

Kenneth Omeruo  was handed a starter’s shirt in Middlesbrough's 0-0 draw at Charlton in the English Championship on Saturday evening.

He was replaced in the 71st minute by Ben Gibson after a knock that ensured he could not continue with the game. Omeruo has played six times for Boro this season.

Odion Ighalo was on parade for Watford who held Blackburn Rovers to a 2-2 draw in an English Championship game on Saturday.

The former Granada forward who is yet to get his first goal of the season was replaced by Lloyd Dyer in the 69th minute as his side remain fourth on the log with 17 points from nine games.

FRANCE

Vincent Enyeama was on from start to finish in Lille’s 1-0 victory over Bastia in the French Ligue 1 on Sunday. Divock Origi’s 39th minute strike ensured the team maintained their third position in Ligue 1. Enyeama is yet to concede a goal at home this season.

HOLLAND

Bartholomew Ogbeche  was on target in Cambuur’s 1-1 draw at Excelsior on Sunday in the  Dutch topflight.

His 62nd minute strike erased Tom van Weert’s first half effort. The former Super Eagles star has now scored three goals in seven games so far in Dutch Eredivise.

He got his first of the campaign against Vitesse on August 16. His team are ranked seventh on the league table with 12 points from seven games.

Abiola Dauda got his fourth league goal of the season  and an assist as Vitesse hammered FC Dordrecht 6-2 in the Dutch topflight on Saturday evening.

The game played at the GN Bouw Stadion saw the 26-year-old forward got a 14th minute curtain raiser to inspire his side to a comfortable win in the 8-goal thriller.

He converted a  pass from  Rochdi Achenteh to poke home his first of the season  before setting up Denys Oliynyk for the second goal.

Dauda, will be recalled, got a hat trick for Vitesse Arnhem in their 3-1 win over Excelsior following his move from Serbian club Red Star Belgrade in July.

RUSSIA

Ahmed Musa was on from start till the 65th minute in CSKA Moscow’s 4-3 win at Ural S.R in the Russia Premier League.

It was the seventh victory for the Army Boys as they continue to push for another Russian title.

Seydou Doumbia’s brace put the Krasno-sinie (Red-blues) in cruise control despite the hosts fighting back to savour some pride before their home fans.

With this victory, the defending champions are second on the log with 21 points from 9 games. Musa boasts of nine league games this season.

GERMANY

Anthony Ujah starred for 88 minutes as Cologne crashed 2-0 at home to reigning champions Bayern Munich in the German league. Ujah, who against VFB Stuttgart got his first league goal of the season, could not reignite the spark as he was replaced by Baard Finne. The game was his fourth of the season.

SCOTLAND

Efe Ambrose featured for Celtic in their 2-1 win at St. Mirren in the Scottish Premier League on Saturday. The Super Eagles player is yet to miss a game for the Hoops this season as his side continue their giant stride towards defending the title they won last season.

GREECE

Abdul Jeleel Ajagun was on the scoresheet as Panathinaikos beat Niki Valou 1-0 in the Greek League on Sunday.

His 42nd minute effort was enough to give Giannis Anastasiou’s side their third win of the season.  He was replaced by Viktor Klonaridis with less than ten minutes to the end of the game.

SPAIN

Ramon Azeezwas on from start to finish as Almeria recorded a 1-0 away win at Deportivo La Coruna. Azeez set up Edgar Antonio Mendez for the only goal of the encounter scored in the 90th minute.

With this victory, Almeria are ranked 10th with eight points on the Spanish log.

Ikechukwu Uche was on parade for Villarreal in their 2-0 loss at home to red-hot Real Madrid. First half strikes from Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo ensured the Yellow Submarine were handed their second defeat of the season.

Uche was replaced in the 64th minute by Mexican Giovani dos Santos.

DENMARK

Sylvester Igboun was on target as FC Midtjyland defeated visiting FC Vestsjaelland 1-0 in the Danish league. The Nigerian got a treble in Midtjylland's 3-2 win over OB Odense to maintain their grip at the top of the Danish Superliga.

The Nigerian has now taken his goal tally to six in the current season.

U.S.A

Obafemi Martins  scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season and notched his 10th assist in Seattle Sounders’ 4-2 home win against Chivas USA in a Major League Soccer game on Saturday night.

Erick Torres, whose scoring form earned him his first cap for the Mexican national team, put the Goats a goal up.

Martins fired Sounders back into contention in the 18th minute with an equalizer after receiving a perfect cross from Brad Evans before Chivas regained the lead through Jalil Anibaba's own goal.

Thereafter, the 29-year-old Nigerian forward assisted Clint Dempsey for the second goal in the 45th minute before Lamar Neagle secured a 2-2 leveler. However, the hosts went into the first half break with a 3-2 lead.

The ‘weapon of mass destruction' completed his brace in the 76th minute to seal victory for Sounders. With this feat, his 15 goals eclipsed Eddie Johnson’s 14 goal-feat in 2012 and now join Dom Dwyer and Bradley Wright-Phillips, who set new single-season records for Sporting Kansas City and the New York Red Bulls earlier this year.

Seattle now have 57 points to sit atop the Western Conference table.