Alex Song made a vital contribution to Arsenal's stunning comeback to beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round on the weekend, while Chelsea's Michael Essien took another step, albeit brief, towards a full return.
Cameroon midfielder Song was on hand to play team-mates Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny into the goalkeeper's area. Both were brought down and Robin van Persie converted twice from the spot as the Gunners scored three goals in seven minutes to motor into the last 16.
Ghana midfielder Essien made a very late appearance in his side's FA Cup victory over QPR, making it three appearances since coming back from a serious knee injury earlier this month, with hopes increasing that he will soon regain full match fitness.
ENGLAND
ALEX SONG (Arsenal)
The Cameroon midfielder played a key role in his side's stunning FA Cup fourth round fightback against Aston Villa on Sunday. Arsenal trailed 2-0 at half-time at the Emirates Stadium, but Song's incisive passes led to penalties for fouls on Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny -- both converted by Robin van Persie -- as the hosts roared into the last 16 with three goals in seven minutes.
MICHAEL ESSIEN (Chelsea)
The Ghana midfielder continued his return to match fitness with a brief substitute appearance in his club's 1-0 FA Cup fourth round win at west London rivals QPR on Saturday. Essien missed the first half of the season with a serious knee injury but, following his 90th minute appearance at Loftus Road, he has now played three times since mid-January and will hope to start his first match shortly.
SOMEN TCHOYI (West Brom)
The Cameroon midfielder came on as a second half substitute in Saturday's FA Cup fourth round tie against Norwich, but was unable to prevent his side crashing out. Tchoyi replaced Jerome Thomas in the 71st minute, but he couldn't inspire Roy Hodgson's team and it was another substitute, Simeon Jackson, who scored the 85th minute winner for Norwich.
SEYI OLOFINJANA (Hull)
The Nigeria midfielder suffered a shock exit from the FA Cup on Saturday as League Two minnows Crawley won 1-0 at the KC Stadium. Olofinjana, 31, came off the bench in the 65th minute with Championship club Hull already trailing to a Matthew Tubbs strike and, despite his best efforts, Nick Barmby's men were unable to avoid an embarrassing exit.
FRANCE
CHRISTIAN KINKELA (Ajaccio)
Congolese midfielder Kinkela scored a fine injury-time goal to give Ajaccio a 2-1 win at Valenciennes that extended their winning run to four Ligue 1 games and lifted them from the foot of the table to 15th place. The 29-year-old came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute and less than 10 minutes later he cut in from the right and flummoxed an opposition defender with a neat step-over before shaping a wonderful left-footed shot around the dive of Valenciennes goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau.
ONYEKACHI APAM (Rennes)
Nigerian centre-back Apam played an unwitting role as Marseille fought back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Rennes and leapfrog their opponents into fifth place. The hosts were 1-0 up when Apam inadvertently diverted Loic Remy's cross into his own net shortly before half-time and his misery was complete in the 77th minute when Benoit Cheyrou scored the winner for the away side.
ALAIXYS ROMAO (Lorient)
Togolese midfielder Romao scored his first league goal of the season to put Lorient 1-0 up at home to struggling Sochaux. There were 62 minutes on the clock when Romao stole in behind the visiting defence to beat goalkeeper Pierrick Cros from close range, but Cedric Bakambu's stunning 80th-minute equaliser ensured that Sochaux left Brittany with a share of the points.
GERMANY
FALLOU DIAGNE (Freiburg)
The Senegalese defender was shown a red card after just four minutes of Freiburg's 3-1 defeat at Mainz to leave his side bottom of the Bundesliga. The 22-year-old hauled down Mainz's Adam Szalai, who was through on goal, and Poland midfielder Eugen Polanski drilled home the resulting penalty.
ERIC CHOUPO-MOTING (Mainz 05)
The Cameroon striker scored twice in Mainz's 3-1 win over Freiburg as the 22-year-old netted after just three minutes and added his second on 17 minutes and was a constant threat to the defence with a series of strong runs. The former Germany under-21 forward has netted six goals in 19 games for Mainz.
MAME BIRAM DIOUF (Hanover 96)
The Senegalese striker has signed for Hanover from European giants Manchester United on a two-year contract. The 24-year-old watched Hanover's 1-0 win over Nuremberg and will train with his new team Monday after two years at Old Trafford.
ITALY
DJAMEL MESBAH (AC Milan)
With Nigerian left-back Taye Taiwo loaned out to Queens Park Rangers in England, the versatile Algerian Mesbah lined up at full-back for his Milan debut. Often employed in midfield at his previous club Lecce, he made an impressive start for the Milanese giants in their 3-0 victory. He show great willingness to run up and down the left flank, although on occasions was guilty of trying to do too much on his own.
JOEL OBI (Inter Milan)
The Nigeria midfielder is rapidly becoming a reliable element in Claudio Ranieri's nerazzurri side. He doesn't stand out by any means but he is disciplined and tidy playing in midfield. He's showed he has the legs to run all day and could be categorised as a willing worker, although at times he needs to take a few more risks in the attacking part of the game. Against Lecce he was solid but could have done more to help his side avoid a costly 1-0 defeat.
SPAIN
ODION IGHALO (Granada)
Nigerian striker Ighalo, on loan from Italian side Udinese, scored in Granada's 2-1 victory over Andalusian rivals Real Betis. Ighalo opened the scoring on 12 minutes with a cool finish in front of the Betis goal after a perfect pass from Carlos Martins for his second league goal of the season.
HASSAN YEBDA (Granada)
Algerian midfielder Yebda also completed the full 90 minutes for Granada on his 13th league appearance this season for the club and was prominent throughout with a hard-working performance.
AROUNA KONE (Levante)
Ivorian striker Kone could not add to his six league goals this season as Levante lost 2-1 at home to Getafe. Kone played the full game and his team remain in fourth position in La Liga and on course for a surprise Champions League place next season
0 comments:
Post a Comment