African players in Europe: Sulemana stars for relegated Saints

The 21-year-old forward ran from inside his own half at Saint Mary's Stadium before firing into the bottom corner from outside the area. Sulemana twice came off the bench at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, helping Ghana beat South Korea but unable to prevent them losing to Uruguay and being eliminated after the first round. Here, AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

KAMALDEEN SULEMANA (Southampton)

Sulemana scored his first two goals for the Saints in a thriller against Liverpool. Signed in January from Rennes, his impact came far too late to save the club from relegation. He gave a glimpse of what could be a promising future against the Reds. After slotting past Caoimhin Kelleher to open his account for the club, he scored a spectacular second goal.

TAIWO AWONIYI (Nottingham Forest)

Awoniyi continued his sparkling end-of-season form as the Nigerian struck for the sixth time in four games in a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace. Awoniyi became the first Forest player since Stan Collymore to score in four consecutive Premier League games as his hot streak kept Steve Cooper's men up.

SEBASTIEN HALLER (Borussia Dortmund)

Borussia striker Sebastien Haller had a day to forget as his side drew 2-2 at home to Mainz, gifting Bayern Munich an 11th straight Bundesliga title. Haller, who had scored five goals in his previous three games, stepped up to take a penalty early in the first half with his side one goal down. He hit a tame effort at Mainz goalie Finn Dahmen, and the visitors doubled their lead soon after. Haller scored in injury time but had his goal chalked off for offside as Dortmund threw away a chance of breaking Bayern's decade-long title stranglehold.

ILHAS BEBOU (Hoffenheim)

Hoffenheim striker Bebou scored a second-half goal as his side drew 1-1 at Stuttgart, snuffing out any chance of being drawn into a relegation battle. Hoffenheim came into the final round facing a slim mathematical chance of being demoted to the second division for the first time in their history. Bebou headed his side in front with 15 minutes remaining, his seventh goal in 19 league appearances this season.

VICTOR OSIMHEN (Napoli)

The star Nigerian forward took his chart-topping Serie A goal tally to 25 - four more than closest rival Lautaro Martinez of Inter - by scoring twice for champions Napoli in a 2-2 draw at 11th-placed Bologna. There has been constant speculation that Osimhen will make a close-season move to the Premier League. 

AMATH NDIAYE (Real Mallorca)

A tough task for mid-table Mallorca at La Liga champions Barcelona became even more difficult when Senegalese winger Ndiaye was red-carded after only 14 minutes. The visitors were already one goal behind and went on to lose 3-0 with Guinea-Bissau-born Ansu Fati scoring twice.