UEL Wrap: Moses, Sadiq & Deji Benched; Chukwueze Debuts; Iwobi Assists; Odey Starts; Kalu Booked

Published: September 20, 2018

Allnigeriasoccer.com reviews the performances of Nigerian players on match day one in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening.

At the Estadio de la Cerámica , Rangers forced Villarreal to a 2-2 draw after falling behind in the first minute of the contest.

Ex-Flying Eagles dazzler Samuel Chukwueze came on for his senior debut in the 79th minute, Rangers pair Sadiq Umar and Ovie Ejaria were not involved, the latter missing out through injury and the striker an unused sub.

Elsewhere but still in Spain, Nigeria midfielder Uche Agbo was sent on for the final 12 minutes as Standard Liege suffered a humiliating 5-1 loss to Sevilla at Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

Eintracht Frankfurt number 29 Deji Beyreuther watched proceedings from the bench in his side's 2-1 win over Olympique Marseille in Group H, and the same applies to Innocent Bonke, who was an unused sub for Malmo vs Genk (0-2) in a Group I encounter staged at the Luminus Arena.

In Turkey, Usman Mohammed was not in the Sarpsborg 08 squad beaten 3-1 by Istanbul side Besiktas at the Vodafone Stadyumu.

Another Norwegian based player Samuel Adegbenro was not involved for Rosenborg against Celtic in Glasgow. It finished 1-0 in favour of the Scottish side.

At the Stadio Toumbas (Thessaloníki), Chelsea beat PAOK 1-0. While Victor Moses was an unused substitute, former Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom was not in the 18 for the Greek side.

Stephen Odey featured for 75 minutes for Zurich in their 1-0 road win against AEK Larnaca.

At Eden Aréna, there was disappointment for Samuel Kalu who went the distance for the Bordeaux side that lost 1-0 to Slavia Prague. Striker Peter Olayinka did not dress for the Czech side, the Super Eagle was booked in the 75th minute.

At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal made it four wins from four games in all competitions after their 4-2 victory over Vorskla.

Alex Iwobi will receive glowing praise for his performance. He set up the opening goal scored by Pierre Aubameyang in the 32nd minute and was substituted in the 70th minute with the Gunners 4-0 up.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : arsenal.com