It was another busy weekend for African players based in Europe’s major leagues, with the highlight a brace of goals for DR Congo striker Cedric Bakambu in Spain’s La Liga.
Bakambu’s two goals secured a 2-1 victory for Villarreal at home to Leganes, a result which sees the ‘Yellow Submarine’ as the ‘best of the rest’ behind the big four of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla on the log table. Kevin-Prince Boateng also continued his fine form for Las Palmas, scoring the opening goal in their 1-1 draw at home to Deportivo Alaves.
In England, Jordan Ayew’s Swansea, Ahmed Elmohamady’s Hull City and Eric Bailly’s Manchester United claimed important wins in their Premier League campaigns, while Wilfried Zaha helped Crystal Palace to an upset win away to Joel Matip’s Liverpool.
In the Bundesliga, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his 27th league goal of the season - and now leads the top scorer’s chart ahead of Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski - in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 away win at Monchengladbach.
In Italy’s Serie A, Senegalese attacker Keita Balde scored a hat-trick to see Lazio to a stunning 6-2 home win over Palermo, while his compatriot Mame Baba Thiam netted the decisive goal in Empoli’s 2-1 win away to giants AC Milan.
The biggest win of the weekend in France’s Ligue 1 saw Lorient hammer Metz 5-1, with Ghana’s Majeed Waris and Cameroonian Benjamin Moukandjo each scoring for the victors, while the vanquished team’s goal was netted by Malian Cheick Diabate.