It is never easy to go into Turkey and win in continental competition but Scottish giants Rangers FC did just that on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 clash with Fenerbahce and Nigeria national team striker Cyriel Dessers played a big role.
Named in Nigeria's preliminary squad for upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Dessers provided the opening goal inside ten minutes and assisted the second goal in a 3-1 victory for Rangers. In the 7th minute, a chaotic sequence around the Fenerbahce penalty area saw a deflection fall Dessers way and he produced a clever finish.
On the other side for Fenerbahce, Ghana national team central defender Alexander Djiku came off the bench early as an injury replacement and managed to level the match on the half hour mark with a volley following a corner kick.
But Dessers and Rangers would snatch the lead back just before halftime and it was a goal that gave the visitors the momentum to push on to victory. A quick counter attack saw Dessers collect the ball in his own half and send a perfect pass to send Václav Černý behind the defense for a calm finish. It was a crowd silencing and morale sapping moment for the hosts who conceded another goal late on.
Under the radar, Polish club Jagiellonia Białystok appear set to qualify for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa Conference League after a 3-0 first leg victory over Cercle Brugge and Angolan forward Afimico Pululu has been sensational. Yet to be capped by Angola, the former FC Basel youth player is building his CV with a brace on Thursday including a brilliant bicycle kick after opening the scoring from the penalty spot to bring his total to six goals in continental competition.
While Dessers represented Nigerian strikers, Iñaki Williams flew the flag of Ghana along with Djiku in the Europa League on Thursday. Athletic Bilbao fell to a 1-2 defeat at Roma but Williams' header early in the second half gave the visitors hope ahead of the second leg back in the Basque Country despite the comeback victory for Roma. Williams now has nine goals and nine assists in all competitions this season.
In Sevilla, it was not an ideal result for Real Betis who were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at home in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League duel with Portugal's Vitória de Guimarães. However, Congolese striker Cédric Bakambu scored his third goal of the competition to open the scoring.
It has been an underwhelming season for the veteran but the goal will be a confidence boost before Bakambu jets off to represent DR Congo in World Cup qualifying later this month.
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