No less than 11 different African players found the back of the net across the five biggest leagues in European football this past weekend.
In England’s Premier League, Malian winger Bakaryo Sako, Senegal striker Diafra Sakho and Ghanaian playmaker Andre Ayew all scored in wins against title hopefuls.
Sako netted the opening goal in Crystal Palace’s 2-1 win at champions Chelsea, Sakho rounded off the scoring for West Ham in their stunning 3-0 victory at Liverpool, while Ayew was the catalyst for Swansea’s 2-1 win over Manchester United.
In Germany’s Bundesliga, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Salomon Kalou both scored in the same game, with the former’s Borussia Dortmund defeating the latter’s Hertha Berlin 3-1.
Spain’s La Liga had its first African scorers for 2015/16, with DR Congo attacker Cedric Bakambu scoring twice in Villareal’s 3-1 win over Espanyol, while Youssef El Arabi netted in Granada’s 2-1 win at Getafe.
In Italy’s Serie A, the only African scorer was Togolese Serge Gakpe, who helped Genoa to a 2-0 home win over Hellas Verona.
Three African players scored in France’s Ligue 1: Sofiane Boufal in Lille’s 1-0 win over Gazelec Ajaccio, Giovanni Sio in Rennes’ 3-1 victory at home to Toulouse, and Wahbi Khazri helped Bordeaux beat Nantes 2-0.
African scorers in the ‘big five’ this past weekend:
England – Premier League
Bakary Sako (Mali) – Chelsea 1-2 Crystal Palace
Diafra Sakho (Senegal) – Liverpool 0-3 West Ham United
Andre Ayew (Ghana) – Swansea City 2-1 Manchester United
Leading African scorer: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Leicester City), 4 goals
Germany – Bundesliga
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) – Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Hertha Berlin
Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast) – Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Hertha Berlin
Leading African scorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Borussia Dortmund), 3 goals
Italy – Serie A
Serge Gakpe (Togo) – Genoa 2-0 Hellas Verona
Leading African scorer: Serge Gakpe (Togo/Genoa) & Abdelhamid El Kaoutari (Morocco/Palermo), 1 goal
Spain – La Liga
Cedric Bakambu (DRC, 2 goals) – Villareal 3-1 Espanyol
Youssef El Arabi (Morocco) – Getafe 1-2 Granada
Leading African scorer: Cedric Bakambu (DRC/Villareal), 2 goals
France – Ligue 1
Sofiane Boufal (Morocco) – Lille 1-0 Gazelec Ajaccio
Giovanni Sio (Ivory Coast) – Rennes 3-1 Toulouse
Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia) – Bordeaux 2-0 Nantes
Leading African scorer: Floyd Ayite (Togo/Bastia), Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia/Bordeaux), Cheick N’Doye (Senegal/Angers) & Giovanni Sio (Ivory Coast/Rennes), 2 goals
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