Africans Abroad: Iwobi, Guessand and Lookman shine with goals in Europe

[h2]England[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/iwobi-alex/2L5gbR8M/"]Alex Iwobi[/a] delivered an outstanding performance as Fulham secured a deserved [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/fulham-69ZiU2Om/sunderland-WSzc94ws/?mid=IgfRNusJ"]3-1 victory over Sunderland[/a].[/p][p]Raul Jimenez opened the scoring by heading home the Nigeria international’s well-taken corner before calmly converting a penalty won by Calvin Bassey after a VAR review. [/p][p]The Black Cats briefly threatened a comeback when Enzo Le Fee converted from the spot following a foul by Ryan Sessegnon. [/p][p]However, the Cottagers quickly restored control as Harry Wilson led a swift counter-attack, setting up Iwobi to finish brilliantly from a tight angle.[/p][p]The result lifts Fulham to 10th place, while the Stadium of Light giants remain 12th in the English elite division.[/p][embed guid="6b68a5ac-6f6f-4c3c-b0d3-49415f5b25ca" url="https://x.com/FulhamFC/status/2025695847330017281" social-type="twitter" /][p]Elsewhere, Crystal Palace star [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guessand-evann/QXyb0B8i/"]Evan Guessand[/a] struck in the 90th minute to hand Wolverhampton Wanderers a painful defeat at Selhurst Park.[/p][p]The relegation-threatened visitors had been the better side in the first half and should have taken the lead when Mateus Mane was brought down in the box. [/p][p]However, Nigeria international [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arokodare-toluwalase/4IsrUYg1/"]Tolu Arokodare[/a]’s lacklustre penalty was comfortably saved by Dean Henderson.[/p][p]The game changed after the break when Ladislav Krejci was sent off for two quick yellow cards, leaving Wolves with a mountain to climb. [/p][p]Crystal Palace gradually grew into the contest but struggled to create clear chances. Just as the match seemed destined for a draw, Tyrick Mitchell delivered a low cross into the box. [/p][p]Cote d'Ivoire star Guessand timed his run perfectly and squeezed his effort past Jose Sa at the near post to seal victory.[/p][embed guid="51ac1702-639e-4f14-8a9e-ccfe8b760560" url="https://x.com/CPFC/status/2025692072066638140" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Italy[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/n-dicka-obite/0ORJzjri/"]Evan Ndicka[/a] was on target as AS Roma strengthened their position in the Serie A top four with an impressive [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/as-roma-zVqqL0ma/cremonese-KUzfp5N3/?mid=Y7DWPu03"]3-0 home win over Cremonese[/a]. [/p][p]The hosts dominated early on but struggled to create clear chances, with Gianluca Mancini hitting the crossbar before the break.[/p][p]After half-time, the Giallorossi increased the pressure and finally took the lead when Bryan Cristante headed in Lorenzo Pellegrini’s corner. [/p][p]Thanks to the lead, Roma remained in control, and Cote d’Ivoire international Ndicka doubled the advantage in the 77th minute, finishing from a corner for his first Serie A goal. [/p][p]Substitute Niccolo Pisilli sealed the win late on with a fine strike. The result moves Roma level on points with third-placed Napoli while the visitors’ winless league run extends to 12 matches.[/p][embed guid="f6a95fb6-a19e-494a-88f8-622d56c9587e" url="https://x.com/SerieA_EN/status/2025686284182683867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2025686284182683867%7Ctwgr%5E1fe38ef69cf113d61ac9a68ad1231abe74287570%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flashscore.com%2Fnews%2Fas-roma-cremonese-match-report-serie-a-22-02%2FYRmqA3TH%2F" social-type="twitter" /][p]At the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Ghana’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ekuban-caleb/CtdcoETk/"]Caleb Ekuban[/a] was among the scorers to propel Genoa to a dominant [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/genoa-d0PJxeie/torino-MZFZnvX4/?mid=K4mcBtoA"]3-0 victory over Torino[/a].[/p][p]Brooke Norton-Cuffy opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a confident finish after a lively start from the hosts. [/p][p]Ekuban doubled the advantage five minutes before half-time, calmly guiding the ball home to put Genoa firmly in control.[/p][p]Torino’s hopes faded further when Emirhan Ilkhan was sent off in stoppage time, leaving the visitors with 10 men. [/p][p]The hosts took full advantage after the break, controlling possession and dictating play. Substitute Junior Messias sealed the win in the 83rd minute with a composed strike.[/p][h2]Spain[/h2][p]Senegal international [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gueye-pape/p6rsDQvN/"]Pape Gueye[/a] was the hero as Villarreal secured a 2-1 win over Valencia in the Derbi de la Comunitat. [/p][p]The game started controversially, with Nicolas Pepe denied a penalty and later injured early on. Gueye’s free-kick was the only shot on target in the opening 20 minutes.[/p][p]Valencia initially took the lead when Largie Ramazani converted a penalty after Umar Sadiq was fouled while Santi Comesana equalised for Villarreal before half-time.[/p][p]In stoppage time, Gueye calmly slotted a left-footed penalty after Ramazani handled the ball, turning the game in Villarreal’s favour. [/p][p]The result extended Villarreal’s unbeaten run against Valencia in LaLiga to nine home matches and five consecutive head-to-head league encounters.[/p][embed guid="80dbb502-04c9-43f7-9a1a-8960cf99cd05" url="https://x.com/VillarrealCF/status/2025891133990269094" social-type="twitter" /][p]In another Spanish top-flight outing, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lookman-ademola/8QK1SO5g/"]Ademola Lookman[/a] scored Atletico Madrid’s third as they returned to winning ways with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/atl-madrid-jaarqpLQ/espanyol-QFfPdh1J/?mid=hlfbLWqQ"]4-2 victory over Espanyol[/a].[/p][p]Marcos Llorente’s earlier error allowed Alexander Sorloth to equalise, before Llorente set up the Norwegian’s second goal with a precise cross.[/p][p]Giuliano Simeone put Atletico ahead early in the second half with Lookman’s far-post header from a Matteo Ruggeri corner making it 3-1 before Sorloth added his 12th league goal to complete the comprehensive win. [/p][embed guid="d266ea0f-8274-467b-a09b-a678c93cacae" url="https://x.com/atletienglish/status/2025320171380855167" social-type="twitter" /][p]Elsewhere, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bakambu-cedric/vZ3QJXBc/"]Cedric Bakambu[/a] kept his scoring streak alive as Real Betis secured a vital 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga. [/p][p]The veteran striker opened the scoring in the 16th minute, capitalising on a defensive error to slot home a loose ball with clinical precision. [/p][p]This was Bakambu’s third league goal of the season and his second in consecutive matches, signalling a return to form. [/p][h2]France[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ganago-igniatius/GCkY7Wy8/"]Ignatius Ganago[/a] scored from the penalty spot as Nantes [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/le-havre-CIEe04GT/nantes-veuetnGG/?mid=KGB1bkN7"]defeated Le Havre 2-0[/a] at the Beaujoire.[/p][p]The hosts took the lead early when Yanis Zouaoui inadvertently turned the ball into his own net in the third minute. [/p][p]Cameroonian star Ganago converted a penalty in the 34th minute after Youssef El Arabi was fouled by Lucas Gourna Douath. [/p][p]Goalkeeper Anthony Lopes preserved the clean sheet with a late save to help Nantes secure a vital victory.[/p][embed guid="4a694ad2-8e16-497f-a61b-88276dcb1ed6" url="https://x.com/FCNantes/status/2025929134736593023" social-type="twitter" /][p]In another fixture, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dieng-bamba-cheikh-dieng/ba2ejA41/"]Bamba Dieng[/a] kept Lorient in the game as they fought back to secure a 3-3 draw with OGC Nice at the Allianz Riviera. [/p][p]Nice dominated and scored twice in the first half through Tom Louchet from Mohamed-Ali Cho’s assists, Lorient responded just before half-time when Pablo Pagis curled a free-kick off the post. [/p][p]After the break, Jonathan Clauss set up Kail Boudache to restore Nice’s two-goal lead, but the Senegalese star converted a penalty after Clauss fouled Noah Cadiou, cutting the deficit. [/p][p]In stoppage time, Cadiou scored to salvage a point to complete a thrilling six-goal encounter.[/p][image alt="Shina Oludare" id="1ac905fc-0d15-4666-b9e1-842d5ddb5578" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="72ba50dc-02ed-4de1-bb6a-fab3b0e0162f" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]