Nigerians Abroad: Osimhen And Ajayi Scores; Okoye And Arthur Wins Motm Awards

The 2026/27 season is underway across Europe's top leagues, and Nigerian players are already making their presence felt. In this report, Positive NG Vibes reviews how Super Eagles players performed for their clubs this past weekend.

 

TURKISH SUPER LIG

 

Let's begin with the Turkish Super Lig, where Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen continued his impressive goalscoring start to the season.

 

The 27-year-old center-forward scored a brace and provided an assist as Galatasaray thrashed Erzurumspor FK 4-0 on Friday night.

 

Roland Sallai broke the deadlock in the 7th minute before Osimhen assisted Yunus Akgün to make it 2-0.

 

Osimhen scored the third for the Turkish champions before completing the scoring in the 80th minute. He played the full game.

 

As it stands, Galatasaray are second on the Super Lig table with four points from two matches, while Osimhen tops the goalscoring chart with four goals and one assist.

 

Still in Turkey, Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu played 86 minutes for Trabzonspor against Istanbul Basaksehir on Sunday.

 

Though the lanky Nigerian forward recorded three shots, he couldn't find the back of the net. He is yet to open his goals account after two rounds of matches.

 

Meanwhile, Onuachu's teammate, Chibuike Nwaiwu, played the entire match as he helped Trabzonspor record a slim 2-1 victory on the night. He was booked in the 83rd minute following a foul on the opponent.

 

A brace from Mohammed Salah sealed the victory for the host team, which now tops the league table.

 

SPANISH LA LIGA

 

Chidera Ejuke's Sevilla travelled to San Mamés to face Athletic Club on Saturday, and the Nigerian winger was not in the starting XI.

 

The winger came off the bench in the second half when the scoreline was 2-0 in their favour. Ejuke needed just four minutes to make an impact as he converted a pass from Isaac Romero in the 50th minute to make it 3-0.

 

Athletic Club pulled a goal back late on, but Sevilla held on to win 3-1 and move top of La Liga with six points from two matches.

 

Ejuke will hope that his debut goal of the season is enough to earn him a starting spot when Sevilla host Atlético Madrid next weekend.

 

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

 

The 2026/27 Premier League season began on Friday when defending champions Arsenal hosted newly promoted Coventry City. The match featured two Super Eagles players, Taiwo Awoniyi and Frank Onyeka, who both turned out for Coventry but could not prevent their side from losing 3-0.

 

Taiwo Awoniyi came on for Ellis Simms and played 21 minutes but couldn't make much difference. The former Nottingham Forest forward would hope to open his account as soon as possible.

 

As for Onyeka, the former Brentford midfielder was on from start to finish but couldn't stop Kai Havertz from scoring the first goal in the 15th minute.

 

Arsenal got their second of the night through Bukayo Saka a few minutes later, while Martin Ødegaard scored the last goal of the encounter.

 

Awoniyi, Onyeka, and the entire Coventry team must improve their game in subsequent matches to avoid relegation.

 

Meanwhile, the most shocking result of the week happened at the MKM Stadium, where newly promoted Hull City stunned Manchester United, thanks to Super Eagles defender Semi Ajayi.

 

The 32-year-old center-back sent the Hull City fans into a wild celebration when he broke the deadlock in the 17th minute.

 

The former West Brom defender scored from close range after United's goalkeeper pushed a poorly cleared corner to his path. Hull doubled their lead before half-time through Nobel Mendy, who headed in a free-kick delivery.

 

Though Semi Ajayi was substituted in the 60th minute, he became the first Hull City goalscorer of the season.

 

EFL CHAMPIONSHIP

 

Newly capped Super Eagles goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo put up an incredible show on his debut for Charlton Athletic during Saturday's 2-1 victory over West Ham.

 

The former Arsenal academy goalkeeper started and ended the game, making eight saves. He was unsurprisingly voted the Man of the Match following the breathtaking performance.

 

ITALIAN SERIE A

 

Maduka Okoye was the standout performer for Udinese as his saves helped them secure a 1-1 draw with Como in both clubs' Serie A opener at the Bluenergy Stadium on Saturday.

 

Hassane Kamara gave Udinese the lead in the 29th minute, but Como levelled through Anastasios Douvikas nine minutes into the second half.

 

The Super Eagles goalkeeper recorded five saves against Cesc Fàbregas's side and was named Man of the Match.

 

NOTABLE MENTION

 

Rafiu Durosinmi found the back of the net as Genk played an exciting eight-goal thriller against Royal Antwerp in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League.

 

The center-forward had one goal and one shot as it ended 4-4. He has three goals from three matches in the new 2026/27 campaign.