England based Kenyan Victor Wanyama and France-based Chadian Casimir Ninga were the star performers of a largely frustrating weekend for Africans across Europe.
Wanyama produced a virtuoso perfomance as Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester City 2-0 in what could be described as a ding dong battle where the Kenyan won the midfield battle against Kolarov.
The talented player cristened the “Lion of Muthurwa” won the man of the match award in a special display that earned him rave reviews and praise as be bossed the centre of the pitch with poise and confidence.
On the other hand 23-year-old Ninga scored his first Ligue 1 hat-trick — twice giving Montpellier a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw at fellow strugglers Dijon.
While Ninga sparkled, African stars like Algerian Riyad Mahrez and Ivorian Wilfried Bony wasted scoring chances in the English Premier League.
ENGLAND
VICTOR MOSES (Chelsea)
The Nigeria winger made his first start for Chelsea since May 2013 at wing-back and played his part in a much-improved defensive display as Antonio Conte’s side won 2-0 at Hull City.
RIYAD MAHREZ (Leicester City)
After a season where everything went right for the Algeria flyer and champions Leicester, player and club both endured a frustrating afternoon in a goalless draw with Southampton. Mahrez, last season’s player of the year, shot woefully wide from the edge of the area just before halftime.
YANNICK BOLASIE (Everton)
The Democratic Republic of Congo winger gave his former teammates a reminder of what they had been missing with some sublime play down the flanks for Everton in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, and the skill that created a chance for Senegalese Idrissa Gueye ought to have been rewarded with a goal.
WILFRIED BONY (Stoke City)
On loan from Manchester City, the Ivory Coast forward found chances few and far to come by during a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Manchester United. But he should have done better when, in the first half, he mis-kicked Joe Allen’s inviting cross from the right-hand byline.
SPAIN
KEVIN-PRINCE BOATENG (Las Palmas)
For the second consecutive game, retired Ghana midfielder Boateng conceded a penalty for hand-ball. However, this time he wasn’t sent off for the offence and played a big part in Las Palmas’ fight back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Osasuna. The former AC Milan man also saw a fine strike from outside the box come back off the post.
BAKARY KONE (Malaga)
Burkina Faso defender Kone was sent off deep into stoppage time for a reckless second yellow card, but Malaga held on to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 and move out of the relegation zone.
ITALY
MOHAMED SALAH (Roma)
Salah set Bruno Peres free down the right for Edin Dzeko’s fifth-minute tap-in as Roma won 2-1 at home to Inter Milan. The Egypt winger was a constant threat on his way to creating four scoring chances for himself and providing six crosses. Salah, who has three league goals in seven games, should have added one of his own in the first half when a burst of pace took him on to Dzeko’s through ball, but his shot shaved the outside of the upright.
KEITA BALDE (Lazio)
Balde suffered an early knock at Udinese, but made light of the pain to fire Lazio into a 2-0 lead after Ciro Immobile had struck on the half hour for the visitors. Having been frozen out at the capital club amid a contract dispute, the Senegal international now looks to have resolved his issues at Lazio. Keita, who hit the opener last week in a 2-0 win over Empoli, scored in back-to-back Serie A games for the first time.
FRANCE
CASIMIR NINGA (Montpellier)
The Chad international grabbed his first Ligue 1 hat-trick in a 3-3 draw at Dijon. Ninga’s quickfire double in the first half put Montpellier 2-0 ahead, and he then restored the visitors’ two-goal lead after Dijon pulled one back. His heroics weren’t enough, though, as Montpellier conceded twice late on and their winless run stretched to seven matches.
CHEICK DOUKOURE (Metz)
The Ivorian midfielder was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Monaco’s Kevin N’Doram as promoted Metz suffered a humiliating 7-0 home defeat. With his side trailing 3-0 on the hour, Doukoure’s dismissal opened the floodgates and Monaco recorded their biggest away league win.
GERMANY
LAMINE SANE (Werder Bremen)
The Senegal centre-back headed Werder Bremen’s second-half goal in their 2-2 draw at Darmstadt, which keeps them out of the Bundesliga relegation places. After Antonio-Mirko Colak gave the hosts an early lead, Sane headed Bremen level from a Gebre Selassie free-kick.
ERIC CHOUPO-MOTING (Schalke 04)
The Cameroon striker converted a penalty in Schalke’s 4-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach, which dragged them off the bottom of the league table. After five straight defeats, the Royal Blues picked up their first win of the season as Choupo-Moting claimed his second league goal of the season after being brought down in the area by Guinea midfielder Ibrahima Traore.
