Sierra Leone international Mustapha Bundu and Nigerian Muhamed Tijani helped second-tier strugglers Plymouth Argyle stun Premier League leaders Liverpool 1-0 in the FA Cup at the weekend.
Bundu led the Pilgrims attack until replaced by Tijani after 72 minutes of a fourth-round tie settled by a Ryan Hardie penalty early in the second half.
Liverpool had hopes of a Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup quadruple dashed after resting several stars, including prolific scorer and Egypt captain Mohamed Salah.
Here, AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the FA Cup and major European leagues:
ENGLAND
MUSTAPHA BUNDU/MUHAMED TIJANI (Plymouth)
Bundu had a penalty appeal rejected and set up a scoring chance for Callum Wright that was not far off target in the southern England port city. Later, Tijani mistimed a diving header that could have doubled the lead.
ANTOINE SEMENYO (Bournemouth)
The Ghana forward’s ninth goal this season propelled the Cherries to a 2-0 win at Everton.In the last FA Cup tie at Goodison Park before Everton move to a new stadium next season, Semenyo put Bournemouth ahead with a 23rd-minute penalty awarded after James Tarkowski fouled the 25-year-old. Semenyo, who has scored four times in his last six games, said: “It would be lovely to reach a semi-final where we are playing at Wembley.”
SPAIN
MOUCTAR DIAKHABY (Valencia)
The Guinea defender scored his first goal after returning from a severe knee injury as Valencia won 2-0 against Leganes in a relegation dog-fight. Diakhaby blasted home from close range to scored their second and sprinted off in celebration having missed nearly a year before he came back in January. “After everything I’ve been through, it was very special,” said the centre-back. “I thought about the moment of the injury, how hard I’ve worked and my family, who were very affected by it.”
ITALY
FISAYO DELE-BASHIRU (Lazio)
The Nigerian international came off the bench and netted Lazio’s final goal in a 5-1 thrashing of Monza as the capital club moved back into the Serie A top four. The 24-year-old is on loan at Lazio from Turkish team Hatayspor.
FRANCE
AHMED HASSAN (Le Havre)
The 31-year-old Egypt forward scored his first goal for Le Havre in their shock 2-1 win at Lille, a result which lifted the struggling side off the bottom of Ligue 1. Hassan, also known simply as ‘Kouka’, joined Le Havre during the January transfer window until the end of the season, having previously been at Rio Ave in Portugal.
PATRICK ZABI (Reims)
The tall 18-year-old Ivorian midfielder, whose skills on the pitches of Abidjan earned him the nickname ‘Magic’, moved to Reims in early January. Destined to play for the reserve team in the French lower leagues, he was instead handed a Ligue 1 debut off the bench against Nantes last weekend, and also appeared in a French Cup tie in midweek. Zabi again came off the bench for Reims late on against Lyon on Sunday, only to be sent off in a 4-0 defeat for his team.
