Paul Onuachu scored a brace for FC Midtjylland who came from a goal down to beat AGF 2-1 in a Danish Super Liga encounter on Sunday reports Completesports.com.
He scored in the 38th and 53rd minute to hand his side a crucial win in the Danish title race.
The 24 year old however turned from hero to villian in the encounter when he was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 67th minute.
The 2017/18 champions are level on points with leaders Copenhagen but with an inferior goal difference.
The 24 year old took his tally to 14 goals in 20 league games this season for Midtjylland.
His compatriot, Rilwan Hassan featured for 70 minutes before he was replaced Mayron George while Frank Onyeka came on for Evander in the 64th minute.
In Belgium, Victor Osimhen scored his 10th league goal of the season for Sporting Charleroi who lost 3-1 away to St.Truiden.
The Nigerian international who made his 20th start of the campaign scored in the 37th minute to half the deficit after Yohan Boli had struck a brace after 31 minutes.
Boli grabbed his hat-trick in the 69th minute of the encounter.
The 20 year old lanky striker is currently on a season loan deal at Sporting Charleroi from German club, VFL Wolfsburg.
In Spain, Kenneth Omeruo was on from start to finish for Leganes who played out a 1-1 draw at home to Valencia. The game was his 18th of the La Liga season.
At the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, Samuel Chukwueze came on for Ramiro Funes Mori in the 56th minute of Villarreal’s 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid.
A goal in each half from Alvaro Morata and Saul Niguez sealed victory for Diego Simeone’s side.
In France, Samuel Kalu returned to Bordeaux’s starting line-up on Sunday in their 1-0 loss away at Nantes. The Nigerian winger featured for 72 minutes before he was subbed for Yann Karamoh.
In Turkey, Henry Onyekuru’s goal drought extended to eight games when he fired blanks in Galatasary’s 1-0 home win over Ankaragucu.
Interestingly, Onyekuru last scored a goal for Galatasaray against Ankaragucu on the 19th of January. The NIgerian was replaced in the 86th minute for Yunus Akgun.
Abdullahi Shehu made his first league start in five months for Bursaspor who lost 3-0 away at Istanbul Basaksehir.
The Nigerian international was on for 80 minutes in his fifth league appearance before he was replaced
In Switzerland, Stephen Odey played the last seven minutes of FC Zurich’s 1-1 home draw with FC Luzern.
The former MFM forward replaced Kevin Ruegg in the 83rd minute of the game.
By Johnny Edward.
20 Comments
Eish…Onauchu and Iyayi are both in the kind of form whihc the national coaches have no excuse to ignore. And it seems someone has whispered into the ears of Osimhen and Awoniyi that its one against the other for a place at AFCON…! Lol
One or the other for AFCON 2019. The other can chase a place in the under 23s with a place in the Olympic squad as the cherry.
Both side by side at AFCON 2021 arms world cup 2022. The competition between golden eaglets 2013 and 2015 is live!!
True but not all the players will play for super eagles
Charles, very true. I watched three interviews on YouTube with Goodwin saviour, Kingsley Madu and Taiwo Awoniyi and all understand that the competition for places is hot and Nigeria has a lot of players to choose from
Search kulikuli reports on YouTube
Very competitive indeed.I think Awoniyi is primed for the national team,I would pick him ahead of Osimhen if I were the gaffer.Another striker worthy of mention is Paul Onuachi.Awoniyi and Onuachi should be called up for the Seychelles,Egypt games.The likes of Osimhen and Chukwueze should develop through the Olympic team.
I believe the eagles scouts and technical department of the Nff are doing a good job of this players. Apparently,we are looking forward to the list of players to prosecute this eagerly awaited encounters in a fortnight.
God bless Nigeria
Oshimen is in the good books of Rohr. Aside from a dramatic loss of form, it will be hard not to see him as a sure banker contender for a place in the AFCON squad.
That said, I quite agree with you that he doesn’t appear “fully baked” enough for the Senior national team squad.
But, in the eyes of Rohr, the former youth international is ready for the big time. Remember, Rohr is a firm believer of having a youthful squad.
Even on current form, I will still pick Iheanacho ahead of Awoniyi. Awoniyi had to drop to a lower club in an average league to rediscover his form.
I dare to predict that if Iheanacho was playing in the Juniper league at this point in time, he will be playing for the like of Anderlecht or Gent and he will be banging goals in left, right and centre.
…that was what we thought of him wen he ‘dropped’ from Mancity to Leicester City. Even Man City had so much faith that they included a buy-back clause in his transfer negotiations. So we cant really say.
Drey the Premiership is not easy,the likes of Success is struggling and the Belgian jupiler league is a lot weaker.Not long ago the form of Iheanacho against lesser teams in the carabao cup was spectacular scoring goals but cant replicate that form in the premiership i think some of those small teams he shined against in the cup games are on similar strength as the ones in the Belgian jupiler.
Absolutely deo,i quite agree with you on Iheanacho but he’s part of the squad already and should be invited.
The likes of Awoniyi and Onuachu are new players that have got into reckoning with excellent form of late Osimhen though has been called up in previous games but not assured so he’s in similar levels as Awoniyi and Onuachu as new players hoping to make the grade.
Okay Drey, let’s flip this discussion on its head: I actually think that Iheanacho has not done that badly in Leicester and I will give the following as my reasons:
– Leicester football club itself hasn’t performed well since Iheanacho went to the club; in fact other more established forwards like Slimani, Okazaki (0 goals in 15+ games), Ahmed Musa and Leonardo Ulloa have all struggled in the club in recent times. So “struggling” is not the monopoly of Iheanacho in that toxic club.
– Earlier in the season when Iheanacho had a healthy run of 10 games, the team won 4 matches and drew 1 with Iheanacho chipping in his fair share of assists ( 3 in total). The fact that Iheanacho scored 1 goal in that period even came as a surprise to me because nowadays,he strengths come, not from scoring goals, but from creating chances for others.
– Iheanacho’s fortune started dwindling when the ineptitude of coach Claude Puel culminating in Iheanacho having less game time which damaged his confidence and diminished his returns.
Yesterday, Iheanacho came in, in the second half and these were what I saw:
– a finely lofted pass to Vardy from deep.
– a variation to his game as he played as a right winger.
– tracking back excellently to deny Palace a goal scoring opportunity.
– simple link-up plays with his fellow strikers.
Simply put, the chaos in Leicester is there for all to see as they have changed a coach who has failed, not only to get the best out of Iheanacho, but to get the best out of what is a decent Leicester team.
Iheanacho’s form and performance after a healthy start of the season is the manifestation of a poor coach in a club that is still yet to wake up from their shock premier League title winning season some years back.
Well said @ deo. But my assessment of nacho’s output is more from a cumulative angle….look at his contemporaries of about 3 – 4 years ago. They are in the same ‘Tough’ epl but have grown to become pivotal for their teams now. We can blame Coach Puel all we can, but can we also blame Pep, the same man who nurtured some of this other contemporaries…?
Thanks Drey.
I know that Iheanacho has not hit the dizzy heights that a lot of us expected – particularly after the insane way he broke into Man City’s squad some years back.
However, I value experience a lot and – for one so young – Iheanacho has it in abundance.
He may reach those dizzy heights of his Man City days but if you ask me in my heart of heart, I very much doubt it.
But, as things stand, Iheanacho is a decent footballer capable of the occasional moment of brilliance.
I still think that one cannot totally divorce what is going on at Leicester with his more recent decline in form.
Perhaps fans should stop looking at Iheanacho as that mega star and just see him as a decent footballer with scope and capacity for improvement.
Then, it would not seem that he is underachieving.
Iheanacho is a player after my heart, his vision, his passing range, his accuracy, his technique and his finishing ability of yesteryears is not something fans should just the treated to for just a short while. It like rubbing dodo in front of noses and not giving us dodo to eat. If it also means going to the “weak” belgian league to rediscover his mojo, he should ASAP, cos based on his showing since moving to LCFC, i dont see any midtable team gunning for his services if and when LCFC says theyve had enough of him
In the next set of games for the super eagles. Players who are worthy to be looked upon are:
IYAYI BELIEVE ATIEMWEN..DinamoZagreb
PAUL ONUACHU …FC MIDTJYLLAND
MOSES ODUBAJO …BRENTFORD FC
I do not deserve a call up based on my performance so far is: KELECHI PROMISE IHEANACHO.
Imagine the clubs and leagues those players play for. I can take only Odubajo from that list because he’s on Rohrs radar while at Hull city before a devastating injury derailed his progress. When a 24 year old still plays in the Croatian league or the Danish league then his qualities should be questioned. Iheanacho has nothing to prove at this stage of his career. Baring any devastating circumstances he’s already on the plane to Egypt. Even though he hasn’t light up the league with goals this season, at least he’s played a substantial amount of games to keep him fit. And I’m absolutely certain that if Iheanacho plays in the same leagues as Onuachu, Awoniyi, Osimhen, Atienem and co he will be banging the goals with relative ease.
The milestones that Iheanacho achieved in his Man City days were simply and utterly mind-blowing – at a time fans were yearning for more of our players to be playing at the highest level.
Man City Milestones:
Milestone 1) Get signed up by a top global team in the biggest league on the planet.
Milestone 2) Get promoted to the senior team.
Milestone 3) Play regularly.
Milestone 4) Score regularly
Milestone 5) Cement yourself has a core member of the team.
Milestone 6) Considering your age, give indications that your best is yet to come.
Now, I am not one to give up on players easily but for Iheanacho to hit such milestones, there will have to be a massive uplift in the quality of his game.
If truth be told, I think Iheanacho peaked too early.
But, like Dr Drey said, dropping down a league to play more regularly may not be such a bad idea to regain his confidence.
Whichever the case, I will be mightily surprised (and mightily happy) to see Iheanacho play in a club like Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester United or Paris St Germain sometime soon – much the way he mesmerised us with his milestones at Man City between 2015 and 2017
Based on current form, Pedigree and experience SuperEagles first 11 should be like this or close to this.
Francis Odinaka Uzoho
Olaoluwa Aina
Jamilu Collins
Kenneth Omeruo
William Troost Ekong
John Obi Mikel(General)
Alexander the Great Iwobi
Wilfried Onyiye Ndidi
Ahmed Musa
Odion Jude Ighalo
Victor Egarevba Moses
Subs;
Samuel Kalu
Isaac Ajayi Success
Kelechi Promise Iheanacho
Oghenekaro Etebo
Henry Onyekuru
Oluwasemilogo Ajayi
Moses Simon
Leon Aderemi Balogun
Two backup Goalkeepers
Two backup Full backs(Any of Odubajo, Ebuehi if fit or Musa Mohammed)
The likes of Awoniyi, Osimhen, Chukwueze, Onuachu, Simy Nwankwo, Chuba Akpom, Awaziem, Azubuike and a host of others will most likely get a call up for camping, but it’s up to them to take their chances if they want to displace any of the players listed above.
Personally I think Awoniyi and Osimhen should spearhead the U23 teams attack while Chukwueze should go and join the FlyingEagles after the season. However, if they can convince the gaffer during camping for AFCON so be it. #FLY LIKE AN EAGLE INTO THE FUTURE #AFCON SPIRIT LOADING…,.,,
Based on current form the following deserve to be in the squad:
Chidozie Awaziem (CB),
Azubuike Okechukwu (DM)
Taiwo Awoniyi (CF)
Victor Osimhen (CF)
Kingsley Madu (LB)
Iyayi Atiemwen (AM)
Based on current form I would drop from your list:
Isaac Success (CF)
Kelechi Iheanacho (AM)
Mohammed Musa (RB)
Leon Balogun (CB)
Even if Paul Onuachu like, he can score two million goals in a match. Coach Rohr will not call him to camp.
I have been calling Paul Onuachu name before now but the manager in charge of the team have no idea of good players.
Also, there’s a Nigeria player in the MSL his name is “Fanendo Adi” that this our coach refused to call to camp. Having these players in camp for this year Afcon, I believe Super Eagles will go far in the tournament.
This is the last opportunity for coach Rohr and his assistant coaches. I will not begg him to take it with both hands.
Ayigbogun have failed.
On to the under 23 coach, coach Rohr’s assistant coach. Let’s see what he can offer Nigeria without coach Rohr.
I believed none of them deserves to be in charge of the Super Eagles team but this year, they have no place to hide.
Nigerians are watching. God bless Nigeria!!!
“Aighohun has failed”: you are so funny Omo9ja.
U crack me up.
At least I can go to bed with a smile on my face.
Good night (assuming you are in a part of the world that shares similar timezone to where I am). 🙂