With the conclusion of the group stage of European football, we look back on how Ghanaian players fared in the second tier of European competition.
Daniel Amartey – Leicester City, England
Leicester have been very disappointing in the league and that form has carried over to the Europa League. Despite being favourites to qualify the Foxes were not good enough and dropped into the Europa League.
Amartey played 4 of their 6 group games missing the first and last games which both came against Napoli. Leicester managed 8 points and Amartey was in the team when 7 of them were won. Indeed, the only game he did not complete 90 minutes in they lost.
His solitary goal came in the 1-1 draw against Spartak Moscow.
Joseph Paintsil – KRC Genk, Belgium
Genk have struggled in the league this season. After a strong playoff where they won five games and drew one, Genk finished 2nd in the league and earned a place in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League. Since then, it has been downhill from there.
Genk are currently 8th with a record of 6 wins, 4 draws, and 7 losses. Their Europa League form was not much better. A dismal showing meant they finished with only 5 points from 6 games.
Paintsil played in 4 of their 6 matches and his only goal came in a 2-2 draw with West Ham where he opened the scoring. He has been a creative spark for Genk with the 2nd most shot-creating actions per 90 (3.37) of players who have played at least a full game in the Europa League.
Bernard Tekpetey – Ludogorets, Bulgaria
Ludogorets have been flying in the Bulgarian league. They have 14 wins in 16 games however in Europe the story has been very different. In 6 games they were only able to muster 2 draws and are out of European competition.
The Bulgarians were poor and managed only 3 goals. Tekpetey was a non-factor on that front with no goal contributions. However, he was 2nd in dribbles and shot-creating actions per 90 showing that he was trying to make a difference, but he was not able to. They will be back in Europe next season however as they are running away with the league.