•Ademola Lookman
Nigerian football stars saw action across Europe over the weekend, producing a mix of goals, assists and notable performances for their clubs as the 2025/26 season gathers momentum. Taiwo Awoniyi and Ademola Lookman grabbed the headlines by scoring for their respective clubs, while several other Super Eagles players featured prominently across England, Spain, Germany and France.
ITALY
Maduka Okoye (Udinese)
Maduka Okoye kept his seventh clean sheet of the season to help Udinese defeat Genoa 2-0 away in a Serie A match on Friday night.
Genoa hit the crossbar twice through Ruslan Malinovskyi and Lorenzo Colombo. Still, Okoye remained composed, organised his defence and stayed alert, with his positioning and communication helping Udinese to survive the pressure as the first half ended goalless.
The goalkeeper who has just been recalled to the Super Eagles squad stood firm in the second half, as he made important saves and handled crosses with confidence, one of which saw him react quickly with a strong two-handed save.
Statistics showed that Okoye made two saves, two punches, two clearances, and six recoveries in the win over Genoa, a performance that showed he deserves his recall to the Nigerian national senior men’s football team.
GERMANY
Philip Otele (Hamburger SV)
Philip Otele celebrated his maiden call-up to the Super Eagles by scoring his first Bundesliga goal in Hamburger SV’s 3–2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.
After being set up by William Mikelbrencis, Otele, who joined Hamburg on loan from Basel during the January transfer window, beat goalkeeper Gregor Kobel in the 19th minute to give his club the lead against Dortmund.
The Nigerian winger, whose stock continues to his rise in Germany, showed composure and precision to net his first-ever Bundesliga goal, with his performance reflecting his quick adaptation to life in one of the top-five European leagues.
Felix Agu (Werder Bremen)
Felix Agu contributed an assist to help boost Werder Bremen’s fight against relegation, as his club secured a crucial 1-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg in a Bundesliga encounter on Saturday.
After replacing Samuel Mbangula in the 61st minute, Agu made a decisive impact with the Super Eagles fullback, influencing the game, as he rendered the assist for the only goal as Bremen registered their third win in four Bundesliga matches.
The 26-year-old helped Bremen to find the breakthrough in the 68th minute after delivering a clever pass into the box, picking out Justin Njinmah, who controlled before firing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
SPAIN
Ademola Lookman (Atlético Madrid)
Ademola Lookman was back amongst the goals for Atletico Madrid on Sunday night. Still, his strike proved futile as his club lost 3-2 to Real Madrid in a La Liga clash at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Lookman put Atletico 1-0 ahead against Madrid in the 33rd minute following a well-worked team move, as the Super Eagles forward finished from close range after a clever backheel assist from Giuliano Simeone.
After Real had rallied to go 2-1 ahead in the Madrid derby, Atletico head coach Diego Simeone wasted no time in making three changes, replacing Antoine Griezmann, Lookman, and Johnny Cardoso with Alexander Sørloth, Nicolás González, and Nahuel Molina in the 57th minute.
Akor Adams, Chidera Ejuke (Sevilla); Umar Sadiq (Valencia)
Akor Adams featured while Chidera Ejuke was an unused substitute when relegation-threatened Sevilla fell 2-0 at home to Umar Sadiq’s club, Valencia in a La Liga match on Saturday.
Adams was introduced for Cesar Azpilicueta in the 37th minute of action, while Sadiq came on to take the place of
goalscorer, Hugo Duro, in the 67th minute.
ENGLAND
Taiwo Awoniyi, Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest)
Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina played huge roles, with the former scoring to help Nottingham Forest boost its survival hopes by thrashing relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 in a Premier League game yesterday.
Unlike Aina, who started and featured for the entire match, Awoniyi was introduced in the second half, replacing goalscorer Igor Jesus in the 71st minute.
The Super Eagles striker then capped off an assured performance from Forest with a late goal to seal all three points, with Awoniyi hitting the back of the net in the 87th minute courtesy of a lovely cross from Neco Williams.
To celebrate after scoring his second Premier League goal of the season, Awoniyi took off his jersey, which prompted the referee to issue the Nigerian international a yellow card.
Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham)
The Nigerian trio of Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze and Calvin Bassey played their part to help Fulham maintain its push for European football next season by defeating Burnley 3-1 in a Premier League game at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Bassey and Iwobi, who was issued a yellow card in the 92nd minute, saw full action, while Chukwueze came on to replace Oscar Bobb in the 62nd minute.
Frank Onyeka (Coventry City)
Frank Onyeka saw full action on Saturday when runaway Sky Bet Championship leaders, Coventry City, secured yet another victory on the road.
The Nigerian midfielder, however, picked up a yellow card in the 72nd minute as Coventry edged closer to securing an automatic promotion into the Premier League after defeating Swansea City 3-0.
FRANCE
Moses Simon (Paris FC)
Moses Simon was in action on Sunday, playing for 84 minutes before coming off for Otavio when Paris FC boosted its survival hopes by defeating Le Havre 3-2 in a Ligue 1 game.
Following his inability to register a goal involvement against Le Havre, Simon, who has struggled for consistency this season, has now failed to score or contribute an assist in 13 consecutive Ligue 1 matches.
