Eagles Roundup: Sadiq, Okereke, Olakunle, Ejaria on target; Ebuehi in action for FC Twente; Palace’s Eze subbed in; Arsenal’s Saka, Southampton’s Tella benched

Round-up of Nigerian players that were in action for their respective clubs in some selected leagues in Europe at the weekend.
Nigerian players with dual nationalities and have played competitively for the senior national teams of other countries have been omitted.
ENGLAND
In the early kickoff at Craven Cottage, former Tottenham Hotspur midfiedler Joshua Onomah made his full Premier League debut as Arsenal earned a routine 3-0 victory against Fulham in the 2020/2021 season opener.
While Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka watched proceedings from the bench for the full game, Ola Aina was not included in the matchday squad for Fulham.
At the Selhurst Park, Wilfried Zaha’s solitary strike proved the difference for Crystal Palace who beat Southampton 1-0.
Eberechi Eze made his debut for Palace when he came off the bench in the 79th minute to replace Jeffrey Schlupp, but Nathan Tella was not summoned from it for the Saints for the entirety of the clash.
In one of the matches played Sunday, Wilfred Ndidi put up a fine performance as Leicester City started the new season on a winning note following a 3-0 away win against West Bromwich Albion.
Ndidi, who was deployed as a centre-back played a key role in the away side keeping a clean sheet in the game.
The Nigeria international was in action for 90 minutes in the highly entertaining contest.
His international teammate, Kelechi Iheanacho was an unused substitute for Leicester City.
West Brom paraded Semi Ajayi for the entire duration of the game. Ajayi was however booked for a rough tackle in the 63rd minute.
In the Championship, the England second tier, John Mikel Obi makes his league debut for Stoke City who were held to a 0-0 draw by hosts Millwall. Mikel played for 90 minutes in the keenly contested encounter.
At the Pride Park Stadium, Ovie Ejaria was on target in Reading’s 2-0 away win against Derby County.
Lucas Joao put the visitors ahead in the 40th minute. Ejaria added the second goal five minutes later.
The midfielder was replaced by Sone Aluko in the 68th minute.
In another Sky Bet Championship game, Bright Osayi-Samuel was in action as Queens Park Rangers recorded a 2-0 home win against Nottingham Forest.
Sammy Ameobi featured for Nottingham Forest in the game. He took the place of Joe Folley in the 59th minute.
The duo of Isaac Success and Tom Dele-Bashiru were missing in action as Watford beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in a Sky Bet Championship game.
Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi was not included in Everton’s squad as they opened the 2020/2021 Premier League season with a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
It was the first time Spurs manager Jose Mourinho has lost on the opening matchday of a league season in his managerial career.
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti gave his three summer signings James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye their debut.
Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin got the only goal of the game in the second half.
The win saw Everton climb to fifth position while Spurs are 17th.
FRANCE
Samuel Kalu and Josh Maja were both in action as Girondis Bordeaux and Oympic Lyon battled to a 0-0 draw in their Ligue 1 clash at the weekend.
Kalu started the game and was replaced by Yacine Adli in the 62nd minute.
Maja started the game on the bench and took the place of Nicolas de Roussel de Preville 16 minutes from time.
In one of the late kick-offs on Sunday, Henry Onyekuru came on and provided an assist in AS Monaco’s 2-1 win against visiting Nantes.
The win means Monaco have now won their 1000th game in the top flight of French football.
Also, they are the fourth club to achieve it in the history of the Ligue 1.
In action for Nantes was Super Eagles winger Moses Simon who played for 90 minutes.
The win was Monaco’s second after three games (one draw) and place them in second position on seven points leaving Nantes in 10th position with four points and have now suffered their first defeat in the league this season.
DENMARK
Former ABS FC of Ilorin forward, Olakunle Olusegun scored two goals for his Danish first division side, Fremad Amager in their 6-0 win over Vendsyssel on Saturday.
Olakunle who scored three goals in his debut game for Fremad Amager came off the bench at Sundby Idrætspark, København in the 46th minute and scored his first goal in the 78th minute for his side’s fifth goal of the game.
The Nigerian U-17 (Golden Eaglets) striker completed his brace in the 88th minute as the match ended in 6-0.
SERBIA
Umar Sadiq was on target as Partizan Belgrade defeated Rad Beograd 3-0 in their Serbia Super Liga clash on Saturday.
Sadiq scored Partizan’s third goal of the game from the spot 10 minutes from time. The forward has now scored five goals in six league outings for the club this season.
BELGIUM
David Okereke scored once in Club Brugge’s 4-1 win against Waasland- Beveren. Okereke scored Brugge’s third goal of the game five minutes after the break. He was replaced by Kreppin Diatta 12 minutes from time.
Okereke’s international teammate, Emmanuel Dennis featured for 72 minutes in the game.
NETHERLANDS
In the Eredivisie, Tyronne Ebuehi was in action for 75 minutes as FC Twente started the new season on a high following a 2-0 home win against Fortuna Sittard. Ebuehi was replaced by Nathangelo Alexandro Markelo.
In another match, Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was on the bench as Sparta Rotterdam lost 1-0 at home to 10-man Ajax, in their first game of the season.
Okoye, 21, joined Rotterdam from German club Fortuna Düsseldorf in July in this summer’s transfer window.
SPAIN
The Nigerian duo Samuel Chukwueze and Kelechi Nwakali were in action as Villarreal and Huesca battled to a 1-1 draw in their LaLiga clash at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday night.
Chukwueze who was impressive in the game featured for 90 minutes.
Nwakali started on the bench and took the place of Juan Carlos in the 62nd minute.
Pablo Maffeo put Huesca ahead three minutes after the break after he was teed up by Carlos.
Gerard Moreno equalised from the spot for Villarreal in the 68th minute.
Villarreal will next face Eibar, while Huesca will be up against Cadiz.
RUSSIAN
Nigerian forward Chidera Ejuke scored his first Russian topflight league goal for CSKA Moscow in their 3-1 home win against Spartak Moscow in Sunday’s derby.
Ejuke, who was introduced in the 65th minute for his second league appearance, scored CSKA’s third goal on 92 minutes.
Spartak Moscow took the lead in the 11th minute before Hoerdur Magnusson and Nikola Vlasic turned things around for CSKA in the 30th and 45th minutes respectively.
The win saw CSKA climb to fourth position on 13 points in the league table.
And in another Russian league game played on Sunday, Sylvester Igboun featured for Dinamo Moscow who lost 1-0 at home to Rubin Kazan.
Igboun was introduced in the 71st minute of the game but failed to prevent his side from losing.
Dinamo had two players sent off while one player from Rubin Kazan was also given his marching orders.