Champions League Roundup: Ighalo Finally Appears, Sanusi Shines…

The matchday 5 of Europe’s most prestigious competition delivered a spectacle across both Tuesday and Wednesday games but how did Nigerians who participated fared?

Already eliminated and bottom of group D, Frank Onyeka and his Midtjylland teammates were playing for pride against Atalanta. The recently capped midfielder was boisterous for the duration of the 1-1 draw in Bergamo.

Onyeka made 5 tackles, 5 interceptions and won 8 of 16 duels he contested as Midtjylland earned their first point in a tough group.

Zaidu Sanusi helped FC Porto reach the round 16 of the Champions League with a convincing display against Man City. The left-back made a goal-line clearance to preserve the scoreline as both teams shared the spoils in the 0-0 encounter.

Porto are through to the next round with a game to spare. They’ll finish second behind City no matter the outcome of both team’s last games.

Emmanuel Bonaventure got an assist in Club Brugge’s 3-0 defeat of Zenith St. Petersburg. David Okereke was a late sub for Brugge.

Club Brugge are third in Group F with 7 points after 5 games. They’ll face Lazio next week and a win in Italy would see them progress to the next round.

Meanwhile, Odion Ighalo finally made his long-awaited Champions League bow. The 31-years-old came on in the 90th minute of Man United’s 3-1 home defeat to PSG.

It was Ighalo’s first appearance for the Red Devils since September. United need at least a point from their last game with RB Leipzig next week to confirm qualification from Group H.