Nigerian footballers stole the spotlight across Europe at the weekend, with Kelechi Iheanacho and Abdullahi Tanko delivering decisive contributions for their clubs.
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish Cup final after an extraordinary extra-time surge saw them beat St Mirren in an eight-goal thriller at Hampden Park.
With the tie locked at 2-2, the Glasgow side produced four goals in six minutes to crush the Paisley outfit. Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho sparked the late blitz, scoring twice alongside Luke McCowan before Benjamin Nygren completed the rout.
The win sets up a final against Dunfermline Athletic next month and marks a strong return to form for Iheanacho, who only recently ended a six-month injury-hit goal drought. The Nigerian now has six goals in 16 appearances across all competitions this season.
In the Czech Republic, Abdullahi Tanko proved the difference for FK Pardubice, scoring the lone goal in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Viktoria Plzeň. The strike was his sixth of the campaign and lifted Pardubice to ninth place.
In England, Ola Aina played the full match as Nottingham Forest produced a dramatic 4-1 comeback win over Burnley to boost their Premier League survival hopes. The victory leaves Forest five points clear of the relegation zone with five games remaining.
In Turkey, Trabzonspor’s Nigerian trio of Paul Onuachu, Anthony Nwakaeme and Chibuike Nwaiwu started in a 1-1 draw with Istanbul Basaksehir. Onuachu, the league’s top scorer with 22 goals, could not add to his tally.
Elsewhere, several Nigerians endured quieter outings. Chidozie Awaziem was an unused substitute in Nantes’ 1-1 draw with Brest, while David Okereke featured in Cremonese’s stalemate against Torino. Gift Orban played the full match as Hellas Verona fell 1-0 to AC Milan, extending his goal drought to nine games.
