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Nigerian footballers delivered standout performances across Europe on Wednesday, January 15, with Leon Balogun, Cyriel Dessers, Tolu Arokodare, and Christantus Uche grabbing the spotlight, Soccernet.football reports.
At Ibrox Stadium, Balogun and Dessers helped Rangers to a dominant 3-0 victory over Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers boss Philippe Clement retained the lineup that beat St Johnstone last weekend, leaving the Super Eagles duo on the bench. Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane continued his scoring streak, opening the scoring in the 13th minute.
Balogun, returning from injury, was introduced in the 75th minute, while Dessers came on in the 89th minute. The Nigerian defender headed in Rangers’ second goal in stoppage time before Dessers ended a six-game Premiership goal drought with a clinical finish moments later.
The win sees Rangers reduce Celtic’s lead at the top of the table to 13 points.
Meanwhile, Tolu Arokodare’s goal for Genk in their Belgian Cup semifinal against Club Brugge was insufficient to secure progression.
Arokodare opened the scoring with a composed finish in the 28th minute, but Brugge fought back to win 2-1. Nigerian defender Raphael Onyedika also featured for Brugge in the heated clash.
In Spain, Christantus Uche inspired Getafe to a hard-fought 1-0 Copa del Rey victory over Pontevedra.
Uche’s clever assist set up Álvaro Rodríguez’s early strike, and despite being reduced to 10 men before halftime, Getafe held firm to secure a quarterfinal spot.
Elsewhere, Ezekiel Henty was the hero in Israel, netting a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Maccabi Bnei Raina shocked Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 in the Israeli State Cup.
In Albania, Peter Mandela Itodo grabbed headlines with a stunning hat-trick in Dinamo City’s 6-1 demolition of Erzeni Shijak, making his debut in the Albanian Cup a memorable affair.
However, it was a night to forget for Kevin Akpoguma and Gift Orban, as Hoffenheim suffered a 5-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Frank Onyeka had better fortunes, helping Augsburg secure a 2-0 win over Union Berlin.
