Matchday 12 of the EPL welcomed players back from the international break. We take a closer look at how African players in the Premier league fared over the game week.
Leicester City and Chelsea kicked off things at the King Power stadium in a game that saw notable performances from the African players including:
Nicholas Jackson – Chelsea
The Senegalese striker continued his strong form this season as he opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 15th minute assisted by Enzo Fernandez. The well taken goal means his tally for the campaign now stands at 7 goals in the league.
Jordan Ayew – Leicester City
The veteran Ghanaian striker showed again why he has been a staple in the Premier League for such a lengthy spell and his prowess from the penalty spot remains one of his strongest assets as a player. Coming on in the 71st minute he converted a penalty in stoppage time to give Leicester a consolation goal which marked his 40th goal in his premier league. The goal made him Ghana’s highest ever scorer in the history of the English Premier League.
Wilfred Ndidi – Leicester City
The Nigerian anchorman continued to be played out of position as a number 10, a role he has struggled to come to grips with unfortunately. In characteristic fashion he received a yellow card in the first half of the match which they eventually lost.
Bilal el Khannous – Leicester City
The Moroccan international and former Jupiler league MVP has struggled to break into a Leicester team that have been in ailing form and have just fired manager Steve Cooper. Hopefully with the imminent arrival of a new manager his 8 appearances and 30 percent involvement in the starting unit will increase.
Patson Daka – Leicester City
The Zambian forward made his league debut against Chelsea after battling with an ankle injury that has kept him out since the start of the season. He logged 11 minutes of game time after coming on late in the second half.
Ismaïla Sarr – Crystal Palace
The Senegalese winger has featured in every game for The Eagles this season but only managed his first goal and assist against Villa in a draw that saw them get sucked into the relegation zone.
Chiek Doucoure – Crystal Palace
The combative midfielder came on in the 74th minute and generally kept it tidy in possession.
Jeffery Schlupp – Crystal Palace
The Ghanaian Premier League veteran has been reduced to bench minutes for most part of the season and continued in that vein by coming off the bench late in the game against Villa.
Thomas Partey – Arsenal
After starting almost every game for the Gunners this season Partey came on at halftime against Forest for Jorginho which added to arsenal’s control of the midfield. He scored a 25 yard screamer in the 52nd minute to take tally for the season to two goals.
Alex Iwobi – Fulham
The Nigerian opened the scoring in the 20th minute for his side and has now scored 3 goals for Fulham in a campaign where he has started every game.
Simon Adingra – Brighton and Hove Albion
The pacy Ivorian forward has been kept out of the starting 11 by Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma but looked tidy when he came off the bench in the 64th minute.
Carlos Baleba – Brighton and Hove Albion
The talented young Cameroonian midfielder who is garnering more attention with each gameweek made the headlines for the wrong reasons after being harshly sent off for a send bookable offense against Bournemouth.
Tariq Lamptey – Brighton and Hove Albion
The Pacy wingback has made just one appearance in what has been an injury bighted season. He is currently nursing a calf injury.
Antoine Semenyo – AFC Bournemouth
The inform Ghanaian failed to add to his tally despite putting in an impressive shift which saw him come close to scoring on a few occasions.
Yves Bissouma – Tottenham Hotspur
Despite being booked in the opening seconds of Spurs’ crucial game against Man City the Malian bossed the midfield in manner that provided the foundation for their big win over the defending champions.
Pape Sarr – Tottenham Hotspur
He formed a formidable partnership with his fellow African Bissouma at the heart of the Spurs midfield
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool
Salah’s performance was nothing short of spectacular; after Liverpool fell behind 2-1, he equalized in the 65th minute with a stunning finish following a brilliant pass from Ryan Gravenberch.
Salah then sealed the victory by converting a penalty in the 83rd minute scoring for a fifth consecutive league match.
Paul Onuachu – Southampton
He put up an impressive ball holding and carrying performance but had to be substituted in the 52nd minute.
Andre Onana – Manchester United
The Cameroonian goalkeeper had a fantastic game; with his distribution on point and some critical saves to deny the home team a potential victory especially the save from Ipswich’s Liam Delap.
Amad Diallo – Manchester United
Deployed in a wing-back position, the Ivorian winger added energy to United’s attack, providing the assist to Rashford goal, his first in eight matches and defensively helping the team.
source: Juilo Ashirifi-Amoah
