Nigerian forward Rafiu Durosinmi has expressed his frustration following Viktoria Plzen’s heartbreaking 2-1 home defeat to Lazio in their Europa League Round of 16 first-leg clash on Thursday night, Nigeriasoccernet.com can report.

Durosinmi, who scored the hosts' only goal, was left ruing missed opportunities after Gustav Isaksen netted a stoppage-time winner for the Serie A side.

Match Recap

Alessio Romagnoli put Lazio ahead in the 18th minute.

Durosinmi equalized with a powerful header in the 53rd minute, marking his second goal in the competition this season after scoring against Ferencváros in the previous round.

With Plzen pushing for a winner, Isaksen struck deep into stoppage time, giving Lazio a crucial away win.

Speaking to Nova Sport, Durosinmi admitted his disappointment:

“It is a tremendous pity for us. We had chances to add the second goal, but they scored. But anything can happen in the second leg.”

Viktoria Plzen will now face Lazio in the decisive second leg next week in Rome, needing a strong performance to overturn the deficit.

Nigerian forward Rafiu Durosinmi found the back of the net, but a dramatic stoppage-time goal from Gustav Isaksen sealed a 2-1 victory for nine-man Lazio against Viktoria Plzen in their Europa League Round of 16 first leg clash on Thursday, reports Nigeriasoccernet.com.

The 22-year-old striker made his third appearance in the competition this season, registering his second goal and an assist.

Plzen thought they had taken the lead in the 11th minute when Pavel Sulc scored, but VAR ruled the goal out. Alessio Romagnoli then gave Lazio the lead in the 18th minute.

Durosinmi brought Plzen level in the 53rd minute, keeping his side in contention. However, the Italian side suffered setbacks, with Nicolo Rovella receiving a straight red card in the 77th minute, followed by Samuel Gigot later in the game.

Despite being down to nine men, Lazio found a dramatic winner through Isaksen in the 98th minute, giving them a crucial advantage heading into the second leg.

Oluwayemi Omolagba

Cyriel Dessers believes Rangers can be proud of their 3-1 away victory over Fenerbahce in their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 first-leg encounter on Thursday night in Istanbul, writes Nigeriasoccernet.com.

The Super Eagles striker had a goal and an assist in the impressive win at the ?ükrü Saraco?lu Spor Kompleksi, though two of his second-half goals were ruled out for offside.

Speaking to UEFA.com, Dessers expressed his delight at the team's performance and his goal in the famous stadium.

"Overall, I think we can be very happy with this evening. We handled them well. It will not be easy to handle them again next week, but you see that we can hurt any team on the counterattack."

Reflecting on his goal, the former Feyenoord forward said:

"It's a very nice feeling to score in a stadium like this. For the first goal, I just saw the ball drop between the defender and the goalkeeper, and that's one of those moments as a striker when you have to be sharp."

With a two-goal advantage heading into the second leg at Ibrox, Rangers will be aiming to seal their place in the Europa League quarter-finals

Cyriel Dessers delivered a standout performance, scoring and providing an assist as Rangers secured a 3-1 away victory against Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash on Thursday.

The Super Eagles striker has now registered three goals and two assists in nine Europa League appearances this season. Across all competitions, Dessers boasts 19 goals and five assists in 41 games for Rangers.

Match Recap:

6’ – Dessers opened the scoring for Rangers.

30’ – Alexander Djiku equalized for Fenerbahce.

42’ – Dessers assisted Vaclav Cerny, who restored Rangers' lead.

81’ – Cerny completed his brace, sealing the win for Rangers.

Meanwhile, Leon Balogun was featured for Rangers after coming on in the 28th minute, while Bright Osayi-Samuel was absent from Fenerbahce’s squad.

Elsewhere in the Europa League:

Real Sociedad 1-1 Manchester United

AZ Alkmaar 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

FCSB 1-3 Lyon

Viktoria Plzen 1-2 Lazio

Ajax 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

FK Bodø/Glimt 3-0 Olympiacos

Roma 2-1 Athletic Club

The return leg fixtures will determine which teams advance to the quarter-finals.

Oluwayemi Omolagba

Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru was on hand to help Lazio to a great win over Ajax in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

He was on target, scoring the second goal for Lazio as they defeated AFC Ajax 1-3 away from home at the Johan Cruyff ArenaLoum Tchaouna opened the score for Lazio in the 12th minute as the Italian side held on to the slim win at the end of the first half.

Bertrand Traoré restored parity for the hosts in the 47th minute, but Dele Bashiru restored Lazip's lead on 52 minutes. Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru was on hand to help Lazio to a great win over Ajax in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

Pedro Rodriguez doubled the lead on 77 minutes and secured the visitor's victory at the end of the final whistle.

The win keeps Lazio top of the Europa League standings while Ajax are 11th on the log.

Uche Dozie 

Victor Osimhen's goal proved vital once again for Galatasaray in their UEFA Europa League match against AZ Alkmaar, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

The Super Eagles striker scored for Galatasaray after the hosts had gone into the lead earlier in the game at AZ Stadion.

Svens Mijnans opened score for Alkmaar 2 minutes into the encounter before Osimhen restored parity 2 minutes to the end of the first half.

The tie remained the same till the end of the second half as Galatasaray stay 4th on the log with the result while AZ Alkmaar are 19th on the log.

It is now 3 goals in 4 matches for the reigning African footballer of the year who was shown a yellow card in the 85th minute after playing the entire duration.

Uche Dozie 

Nigeria Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen was in his goal scoring element on Thursday as he helped Galatasaray to a slim win over Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

The reigning African footballer of the year netted twice to give the Turkish side a 3-2 win over the English Premier League side at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul.

Yunus Akgün opened the score for the hosts after smashing a distance shot into the right corner of the net in the 6th minute of action.

Will Lankshear restored parity for the visitors after 12 minutes the host scored with his first ever goal for Spurs.

Osimhen who had seen his effort ruled out for offside some minutes ago brought Gala back to the lead in the 31st minute.

He made it two 8 minutes later to give the hosts a 2-goal cushion before the end of the first half.

Lankshear was sent off after he was shown a second yellow card after 15 minutes of action in the second half.

However, Dominic Solanke scored a backheel to pull one back for Spurs 9 minutes later.

But it was not enough to salvage the situation as the English side's 100% start to the campaign ended in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Osimhen who was substituted 10 minutes before the end of the game for Kerem Demibay now has 6 goals and 4 assists in 8 games for Gala.

Uche Dozie 

Nigeria Super Eagles striker, Cyriel Dessers scored his 9th goal of the season for Rangers against Olympiacos in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

Dessers salvaged a crucial point for Rangers in Greece, equalizing after Olympiakos' early lead to end the score at 1-1.

Olympiacos scored first in the second half through Ayoub El Kaabi after a first half of end to end attempts at goal for both side.

The Moroccan fired a powerful shot high into the back of the net in the 56th minute of the game to give the host the lead.

However the lead lasted less than 10 minutes, as Vaclav Cerny found Cyriel Dessers on the attack and the striker took a lovely touch beyond an Olympiacos defender before showing composure with a fine finish low into the bottom corner.

At the end of the final whistle, both teams shared the spoils in Athens.

Uche Dozie 

Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers played a part in Rangers' defeat of Malmo FF in the UEFA Europa League clash on Tuesday, Nigeriasoccernet.com writes.

Rangers defeated Swedish side, Malmo FF in front their fans 2-0 to kickoff their 2024/25 UEFA Europa League group campaign, Dessers providing one of the assists of the goals on the evening.

With just a minute into the game, Nedim Bajrami put them visitors ahead silencing the home crowd after a fine pass from Cyriel Dessers.

There was no more goal to report in the first half as the visitors held on to the lead.

Second half substitute Ross McCausland made it 2-0 for Rangers 7 minutes after coming on.

The victory on the road propelled Rangers to a good start to the new format group stage of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League season as the battle for qualifiers continues.

Rangers next Europa League game will be against Gift Orban's Lyon at home on October 3rd, 2024.

Meanwhile Gift Orban was an unused sub in Lyon's Europa League victory over Olympiacos on Thursday.

Second half goals from Cherki (65') and Benrahma (71') was enough for the French side to start their campaign with a win.

Oluwayemi Omolagba

Victor Osimhen got his third assist in three matches for  Galatasaray in their 3-1 home victory in their Europa League opener on Wednesday night.

There was nothing to choose between the two sides after 45 minute of action at the Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi.

However, things hit up in the second phase of the game as Osimhen's header  was turned into the net by Baba Rahman three minutes after the restart.

Giannis Konstantelias restored parity for the Greek side on 67 minute, but Yunus Akgün restored Gala's lead on 75 minute courtesy of an assist from Osimhen.

The reigning African footballer of the year was substituted on 78 minute for Mauro Icardi who scored the goal that consolidated victory for the hosts after minutes of additional time.

Uche Dozie 

Dele-Bashiru scored one and provided one as the Italian side defeated the Russian side 3-0 at the .

Dia Boulaye opened score in the 5th minute, his first UEFA Europa League goal with a right footed shot into the corner.

Dele-Bashiru made it 2-0 for the Eagles in the 33rd minute with a fine curler put at the top of the right corner of the net.

Two minutes later, Dele-Bashiru found Dia for his second of the night to make it 3-0 at the end of the first half. A result that remained that way till the end.

The Super Eagles midfielder who joined the Italian Serie A side on a season-long from Hatayspor, with an obligation to buy had an impressive game which saw have 100 percent pass accuracy, 6 recoveries, 1 interception and 4 ground duels won according to Fotmob.

Uche Dozie

Nigerian duo of Christian Nwachukwu and Anthony Ujah were the heroes on Thursday night as Botev Plovdiv defeated Maribor 4-3 on aggregate to secure a ticket to the next qualifying round of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League season, Nigeriasoccernet.com writes.

After scoring a goal and providing an assist in the first leg 2-1 win for Botev Plovdiv at the Stadion Hristo Botev (Plovdiv), Ujah contributed another goal in the second leg at the Ljudski vrt (Maribor)  to ensure his side overcome their Slovenian counterpart in the fiercely contested double-leg tie.

Jan Repas in the 13th minutes of the second leg give Maribor the lead, a goal that tied the game on a 2-2 aggregate. Nwachukwu restored Botev aggregate lead 2 minutes into the 2nd half, before Anthony Ujah killed the home team hope of another lead on the hour mark, scoring a beaut to put Botev 2-1 ahead on the night and 4-2 aggregate lead.

[caption id="attachment_751571" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ujah in celebration mood after putting Botev ahead vs Maribor[/caption]

Ettiene Yves goal in the 80th levelled things for Maribor on the night 2-2 as the vsistors shrug off all attemts by the host to win the game, leaving the final aggregate scores at 4-3 in favour of Botev.

Having secured the first qualifying rounds passage, the Nigerian duo will hope their club gets a favourable draw for the next qualifying round on Friday.

Oluwayemi Omolagba

Nigeria's Anthony Ujah propelled his side, Botev Plovdiv to victory with a goal in the UEFA Europa League over NK Maribor, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

He scored and assisted the winner as Bulgarian side, Botev started their qualifiers with a win at Hristo Botev" Stadium.

Ujah opened score after nine minutes of the game before Maribor equalised in the 19th minute through.

However, the Nigerian striker sent a cross to Nikola Iliev to score Botev's second and the winner.

Ujah joined Botev as a free agent in July from Eintracht Braunschweig in Germany.

Meanwhile, Samuel Akere played 81 minute while Christian Nwachukwu played for 71 minute for Botev Plovdiv.

Uche Dozie

Nigeria Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman has described helping Atalanta BC to their first UEFA Europa League title is one of the best night of his life, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

Lookman was unstoppable as he scored three sumptuous hattrick to propel Atalanta to a 3-0 win over German Bundesliga League champions, Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the Europa League on Wednesday night.

A well struck goal from close range with his left foot, another right foot stroke from outside the box and a thunderous left footed shot after driving into the box sealed a glorious hattrick for the Nigerian in Dublin.

A feat which makes him the first player to score a hat-trick in a Europa League final.

Lookman who reached three finals this year; losing two of these, says the night is one of the best in his life after the match.

"One of the best night of my life. Amazing performance from the team. Yea, we did it. Not got much words to say, fantastic."

"Am just happy we won today," He said.

Lookman with his goals, has a 30-goal involvement with 20 goals and 10 assist in 57 matches for Atalanta BC this season.

By Uche Dozie 

Ademola Lookman was the man of the night in Dublin as his hat-trick powered Atalanta past Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen to hand Gasperini's men their first ever European trophy, Nigeriasoccernet.com can report.

The Super Eagles talisman continued from where he left off during the African Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire putting Atalanta in front as early as the 12th minutes of the encounter, beating Leverkusen's defender to a cross which he latched onto beyond the reach of goalkeeper Kovar to give Atalanta the lead.

Lookman then beat 3 Leverkusen's defender in the 26th minutes before curling the ball into the far left corner of Kovar's post to give Atalanta a comfortable 2-goal lead into the break.

Boniface who started the night on the bench for Leverkusen was introduced at the start of the second half to turn things around for Alonso's men but it was rather too late as Lookman killed their hopes of a possible comeback with his 3rd of the game on the 75th minutes.

All attempts by Alonso to salvage the night with introduction of new legs which included Nigeria's Nathan Tella failed as Atalanta players held onto the 3 goals lead, leaving no room for complacency as they won the club's first major trophy.

Ademola Lookman who saw his short denied by the cross bar last weekend in the Coppa Italia Cup final against Juventus had them perfect on the night, scoring all of his attempts on goal, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in an Europa League final.

The  Nigerian was also named the man of the match following the stellar performance for Atalanta in Dublin.

A disappointing night for Nathan Tella and Victor Boniface who saw their 51 games unbeaten come to an end and also their dream of winning a treble.

They face 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday in the final of the DFB-Pokal as they aim to finish the season with a double of League and Cup titles.

By Oluwayemi Omolagba

Tonight at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin in Ireland, three Nigerians will battle for Europe's second most prestigious inter-club trophy, the UEFA Europa League, Nigeriasoccernet.com writes.

In what has been a great season for Ademola Lookman, the Super Eagles winger will hope to end it on high with a trophy but has two other Super Eagles players to contend with, Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella.

Boniface and Tella are currently enjoying their best life ever as professional footballers having won the German Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen weeks back and also ending the league season unbeaten last weekend. They are  also in the German's cup final.

With records insight for Nigerian duo of Bayer Leverkusen who could set a new record of finishing the entire season unbeaten with just two games left for their season to end, and a treble insight as well, it's definitely going to be a difficult game for Ademola Lookman's Atalanta who relatively have had a good season thus far having finished runner-up to Juventus in the Coppa Italia Cup final and already secured a place in next season's UEFA Champions League with a game left to end the Italian topflight season.

On his way to the final, Ademola lookman stole the show with his impressive performance, scoring a goal and providing an assist as Atalanta defeated French giants Marseille 4-1 on aggregate to play in their first-ever Europa League title.

In the other semi-final, despite winning the first leg 2-0 away in Rome, Leverkusen had to come from 2-goals down to draw 2-2 with Roma in what could have been a disastrous night at the BAYArena. While Boniface was an unused substitute in the both legs of the semifinal, Tella was brought on by Xabi Alonso and the Nigerian played a role in the build-up to the late equaliser in the second leg played at the BAYArena.

Atalanta have never won an European trophy and Leverkusen on the hand are looking to win their firstever treble and also end the season unbeaten

With the two clubs chasing records, the Dublin convergence for the Super Eagles stars will leave Nigerians divided as to whom they should support on Wednesday night as the trio are largely loved by the country's footballing fans.

By Oluwayemi Omolagba

A great night in Germany it was for Super Eagles duo of Nathan Tella and Victor Boniface as their Bayer Leverkusen survived AS Roma scare, coming from two goals down to pick the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League final ticket, Nigeriasoccernet.com can report.

After winning the first leg 2-0 in Rome, one would think the game in Germany will be a wak in the park for the newly crowned German Champions. However, the team went from dominance from almost having their hands in their fingers but once again thanks to two late goals, they did only pick the final ticket but also extended their unbeaten records to 49, the highest ever to be achieved by an European club in a season across all competition.

Leandro Parades' brace from the spot helped Roma level 2-2 on aggregate as at the 66th minutes, leading 2-0 on the night at the BayArena, and with the game setting for an extra time, Bayer Leverkusen like they've done all season got two late goals, an own goal from Mancini in the 82nd minute and the leveller from Josip Stanisic.

Xabi Alonso's men have not only taken Germany by a storm but also the all of the world with the way they've win and drawn matches to maintain their unbeaten record since the start of the season.

Meanwhile, Super Eagles duo of Nathan Tella and Victor Boniface were unused sub in the  BayArena encounter. While Victor Boniface had struggle to break into the starting 11 since his return from injury, Nathan Tella have been on and off the starting lineup and with four games to end the season it is let to be seen if both players can regain their place in the starting 11.

https://twitter.com/bayer04_en/status/1788675434772627943?t=0sJB0-gTXJtH1x2jryn_6Q&s=19

The duo will be up against national teammate, Ademola Lookman who got a goal and an assist as Atalanta defeat Marseille 3-0 in Italy in the May 22nd final.

By Oluwayemi Omolagba

Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman was the hero on Thursday night as Atalanta saw off French side Olympique de Marseille with ease at the Gewiss Stadium, thanks to a goal and an assist from Ademola Lookman, Nigeriasoccernet.com can report.

With the game tied on a 1-1 score from the first leg, a stunners by Ademola Lookman on the half-hour mark sends the home fans into wild jubilation as they seem on track for their first European competition.

Holding on to the goal going into the break, one will expect the visitors to respond with a goal of their own in the second half, however, Nigeria's forwad, Ademola Lookman had a better idea as he set up Matteo Ruggeri for Atalanta's second of the night, 52 minutes into the encounter before El Bilal Toure's goal in the 4th minutes of additional time mase it an easy win for the Nerazzurri.

The performance from Lookman on the night was one of the best from him this season. The former Everton winger marked a lively performance with a goal and an assist. The 26-year-old linked well with the likes of Scamacca and the impressive Teun Koopmeiners as the Serie A outfit carved out the better openings and deservedly booked their spot in the final.

https://twitter.com/Atalanta_BC/status/1788697443879579810?t=qrIhPEKcZKPgIl_70w1ncQ&s=19

They will play another fantastic team, Bayer Leverkusen who boast of two Nigerians in Nathan Tella and Victor Boniface in the May 22nd final at tha Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland.

By Oluwayemi Omolagba

Club Brugge manager Nicky Hayen has chosen not to lay blame on midfielder Raphael Onyedika following his sending off in Thursday night's UEFA Europa Conference League showdown against Fiorentina. Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.

With Onyedika's dismissal, the Italian side capitalized on their numerical advantage to secure a 3-2 victory in the first leg of the semi-final tie.

Onyedika's troubles began in the 58th minute when he was cautioned for a rash challenge, before receiving his marching orders just three minutes later after a second yellow card.

Reflecting on the incident, Hayen defended Onyedika, stating, "The player himself did not know that he already had yellow, and you could see from his reaction that he was surprised." Hayen emphasized Onyedika's intelligence, suggesting that his unawareness of the earlier booking was a testament to his focus on the game.

Despite Onyedika's absence in the second leg at the Jay Breydelstadion next Thursday, Hayen highlighted the team's aggressive mindset, indicating a determination to avoid conceding unnecessary advantages to their opponents.

“He is, in that respect more intelligent and otherwise he would not have used that tackle in that way.” Hayen said.

By Olujimi Dare Ogun

It was a late appearance for Super eagles forward, Ademola Lookman as Atalanta suffered a 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarterfinal tie at the Gewiss Stadium, Nigeriasoccernet.com can report.

Lookman who was unused sub in the first leg played at the Anfield Road last week where Atalanta won 3-0 was introduced for Aleksey Miranchuk with just 11 minutes left to play.

Lookman since his return from the African Cup of Nations has fallen down the perking order of Gian Piero Gasperini, who prefer others to him in his position.

Mohamed Salah's 7th minutes goal from the penalty spot was not enough for Liverpool to overcome a 3-0 first leg deficit as they crash out of Europe to lookman's Atalanta 3-1 on aggregate.

Lookman will hope he regains his coach's confidence for a place in the starting lineup before Atalanta's trip to Marseille on the 2nd of next month for the first leg of the semifinal of the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League season.

They host the second leg 7 days later in Italy at the Gewiss Stadium.

By Oluwayemi Omolagba