Nigerians abroad: Ahmed Musa pinches Peseiro with first Sivasspor goal; Akere, Emmanuel soar in Bulgaria; Okeke excites Sparta

Soccernet.ng highlights some eye-catching displays from Nigerian footballers outside the country’s shores on Thursday, December 7, 2023.

Christian Mba was unlucky not to grab his first goal of the season as his Partizani Tirana forced visiting Teuta Durrës to a 1-1 draw in the Albanian Superliga.

Mba scored five goals in 18 league games last term.

Taofeek Ismaheel came off the bench at halftime to add pace to SK Beveren’s attack, but it ended in disappointment as Union Saint-Gilloise scored two goals after the 90th-minute mark to progress to the next stage of the Belgian Cup.

In the Bulgarian Cup, Umeh Emmanuel and Samuel Akere delivered the goods for Botev Plovdiv in their 4-2 away triumph over Etar VT.

Emmanuel scored in the 90th minute, while Akere hit the target four minutes later as their late goals propelled Botev Plovdiv to the next round of the competition.

In the Premier League International Cup, enterprising Nigerian youngster Nelson Okeke was the creative force behind Sparta Prague U21’s impressive 3-1 away victory over Leeds United U21.

From his central midfield role, 21-year-old Okeke supplied the assists to Sparta’s first two goals as the Czech side claimed their first win of the tournament.

In the Indian Super League, former Molde and Legia Warsaw star Daniel Chima Chukwu netted a stoppage-time equaliser for Jamshedpur as they clawed their way back from two-nil to seal a 2-2 home draw with Chennaiyin.

Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa scored his first-ever goal for Sivasspor to inspire the club to a fine 2-1 win over Arnavutköy B in the Turkish Cup.

Musa’s last goal in any competition came when he was still defending the colours of Fatih Karagümrük, helping his side to a fantastic 2-1 away win over Istanbul Basaksehir in February 2022.

However, at the BG Group 4 Eylül Stadyumu in Sivas, Musa doubled Sivasspor’s advantage in the 25th minute with a classy finish six minutes after Hakan Arslan opened the scoring from the penalty spot.

Musa received the ball outside of the penalty box and, with a sharp burst of pace, drove into the area before smashing an excellent effort into the roof of the net, leaving goalkeeper Cantuğ Temel with no chance of making the save.

Watch Musa’s goal below (it starts in the 3rd minute)

Musa will hope his goal sends the right message to the Super Eagles coaching crew headed by Portuguese manager Jose Peseiro ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The former Leicester City winger has not been in Peseiro’s plans in recent international engagements.

Elsewhere, Ibrahim Olawoyin and Rizespor strolled into the fifth round of the Turkish Cup following their impressive 4 – 0 win over Bucaspor 1928.