Champions League: Busy Tuesday night for Nigerian players Frank Onyeka and Zaidu Sanusi
A detailed look at how two Nigerian players performed in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Matchday 2 of the 2020/2021 Champions League season kicked off on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, with two Nigerian players involved.
Frank Onyeka and Zaidu Sanusi were both on for the whole 90 minutes for their respective sides on Tuesday night.
Onyeka can’t shut out Liverpool
Onyeka and his FC Midtjylland teammates made Liverpool work hard for their 2-0 win at Anfield. The Nigerian midfielder wasn’t bad on the night although he looked out of pace sometimes during the game.
He started well with plenty of interceptions and good abilities on the ball but he struggled when Liverpool settled into the game.
The 22-year-old, who played in a two-man deep midfield was at times caught out of position and while trying to catch up had to make some fouls. He was yellow-carded in the 25th minute for a foul on Divock Origi.
In all, he wasn’t outplayed in midfield by the likes of Jordan Henderson and James Milner although the story could have been different if it were Liverpool’s first-choice midfield combination.
He needed up having the most interceptions and tackles in the game.
However, Onyeka loses another opportunity to out rightly impress on a Champions League night. The quality of his team might have been a major factor, but yet, standing out would have also been him sending out a message to top European sides that he is ready for a step up.
Sanusi solid
It was different for Sanusi who starred all 90 minutes for Porto in their 2-0 win at home against Olympiacos.
The left-back did a solid job of his primary assignment, which was defending. It was going forward that he was found wanting. His runs were not well-time, he was guilty of stray passes and even his admired crossing abilities were missing on the night.
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