African players in Europe: Boulaye Dia delays Napoli title party

The 1-1 draw left Napoli 18 points above Lazio with six rounds remaining and needing one more point to be mathematically certain of winning the league for the first time since 1990. Dia helped Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time last year by coming off the bench in the final against Egypt in Yaounde.

Here, 'AFP Sport' highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

The Egyptian scored from the penalty spot as Liverpool beat Tottenham 4-3 in a seven-goal Premier League thriller at Anfield. His effort put Liverpool 3-0 up in a see-saw contest and was his 17th goal of the campaign. Last season Salah was the joint winner of the Premier League's golden boot award with 23 goals.

 

April 30, 2023

JORDAN AYEW (Crystal Palace)

The Ghana front man opened the scoring for Palace in their dramatic 4-3 win over West Ham that took them above Chelsea to 11th in the table. The Eagles were 1-0 behind when Ayew beat Lukasz Fabianski at the goalkeeper's near post.

WILFRIED ZAHA (Crystal Palace)

In a match full of African talent, Ivory Coast forward Zaha scored Palace's second goal after Ayew touched on a cross from Michael Olise.

 

April 29, 2023

NAYEF AGUERD (West Ham)

The Hammers have their African stars as well, the Moroccan centre-back turning in a corner from Jarrod Bowen to complete the scoring.

SPAIN

NICOLAS JACKSON (Villarreal)

Jackson hit a brace for Villarreal in the opening 12 minutes of their 3-1 La Liga win over Celta Vigo. The Senegalese burst through the middle to pick up a through ball and finished clinically to break the deadlock. Jackson showed the same nerve in front of goal for his and Villarreal's second, rounding goalkeeper Ivan Villar before slotting home after getting behind the defence again.

ITALY

BOULAYE DIA (Salernitana)

Dia's beautifully-struck finish at Napoli wasn't just his 12th Serie A goal of the season, it also meant Napoli will have to wait at least a few more days before finally celebrating their first league title in 33 years. Dia lashed home the leveller with six minutes to go at the Stadio Maradona, allowing their fans down the coast from Naples to avoid handing their regional rivals a third Scudetto.

 

May 1, 2023

GERMANY

SERHOU GUIRASSY (Stuttgart)

Guirassy scored a crucial goal in Stuttgart's fight against the drop, glancing in a backheel in the 2-1 Bundesliga win over Borussia Moenchengladbach. The goal was the Guinea international's eighth this season since joining on loan from French side Rennes.

FRANCE

DARLIN YONGWA (Lorient)

The 22-year-old full-back from Cameroon chose quite a moment to score his first professional goal, putting Lorient back in front away to Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain as the Brittany side upset the odds to win 3-1. Yongwa, from Douala, joined Lorient from second-tier Niort last year and won his first cap for the Indomitable Lions this season.

LOGAN COSTA (Toulouse)

The centre-back was an unlikely hero as Toulouse won the French Cup with a crushing 5-1 defeat of holders Nantes in the final. Hardly used in Ligue 1 this season, the 22-year-old defender has been given a chance to shine in the Cup but had only scored one professional goal before netting twice in the first 10 minutes of the final. Born and raised in the greater Paris region, Costa represented France as a youth before declaring for Cape Verde and making his full international debut last year.