News-EPL, Serie A, La Liga - Nigerian footballers. Exclusive match reviews, recap videos and Match of the Week selections curated by My11.

Nigerian-born midfielder, Eberechi Eze, five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, and hat trick hero, Lautaro Martinez lead My11’s Round 17 Team of the Week.

Goalkeeper:

Gianluigi Donnarumma | The Italian shot-stopper had an outstanding game to help 10-men AC Milan defeat Benevento away from home. He made 5 crucial saves, including saving a penalty to make sure he kept a clean sheet.

Defenders:

Achraf Hakimi | The Moroccan full-back has been giving a back-to-back impressive performance, and in Inter Milan’s 6-2 thumping of Simy Nwankwo’s Crotone, Hakimi put up another impressive shift. He got his name on the scoresheet.

Eric Bailly | The Ivorian proved again why he is the best defender at Old Trafford, as Manchester United defeated in-form Aston Villa 2-1. Bailly made 6 clearances, and just 1 blocked shot that was a match-winning block for the Red Devils late in the game, with all his teammates running to him after the final whistle.

Kieran Tierney | Arsenal look to be back to their best and in their 4-0 thrashing of Semi Ajayi’s West Brom, Tierney was solid. He scored a beautiful solo goal with his weak foot and gave 4 key passes, one of which was an assist.

Midfielder:

Eberechi Eze | The Nigerian-born midfielder had a man of the match performance in Crystal Palace’s 2-0 victory over Sheffield United. Eze came on in the 40th minute and 5 minutes later, he scored a brilliant goal, making a solo run from his own half, similar to the 2020 Puskas award goal from Son Heung Min.

Kevin De Bruyne | The Belgian had a brilliant game as Manchester City defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Gave a lovely pass for Phil Foden to score, before placing the ball into the back of the net, after Raheem Sterling’s shot hit the upright.

Piotr Zielinski | The Polish had a solid performance in Napoli’s 4-1 win away to Napoli. He hit 6 shots, 4 on target, and scored 2 goals. He sent in lots of crosses which caused havoc for the hosts. He was impressive all round.

Cristiano Ronaldo | The 35-year-old had another “Ronaldo trademark” game. He had a match-winning performance with 4 shots, 2 on target, and both were goals. He also gave 2 key passes and one was an assist, with a game-high of most dribbles and most fouled in the match.

Forward:

Alexandre Lacazette | The French striker had arguably his best performance for Arsenal this season in their 4-0 win over West Brom. He hit 5 shots with 4 on target, scored 2 goals in the space of 4 minutes, and gave 3 key passes in the encounter.

Luis Suarez | The Uruguayan is showing why Atletico Madrid brought him from Barcelona. He provided an assist for the first goal of the game and scored the winning goal for the capital club late in the game to help them win all 3 points.

Lautaro Martinez | How well do you define a striker’s performance after scoring a hat trick? The Argentine had a great game in Inter’s 6-2 win and scored half of those goals. He also gave 3 key passes.

Manager:

Ralph Hasenhüttl | The Southampton manager broke down in tears after the final whistle, following the Saints 1-0 win over Liverpool, nullifying everything the champions did to secure all 3 points.

Naija Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has gotten himself into trouble after the Napoli striker and Edo State indigene attended a party in Nigeria and tested positive for COVID-19 a few days later.

The 22-year-old striker was seen attending a party in December, without wearing a face mask nor observing social distancing. Few days after the party, the Naija striker tested positive for COVID-19 and has been fined a 2-week wage.

Osimhen has not featured for the Italian side since November, after picking up an injury while playing for Nigeria against Sierra Leone, now he will be absent for two more weeks due to COVID-19.

Do you think Osimhen was careless?

Manchester City were too good for Chelsea as Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens defeated Frank Lampard and his Blues side 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in a one-sided affair on Sunday night.

Manchester City scored the opening goal in the 18th minute with a lovely low drive shot from Ilkay Gundogan just outside the box. Phil Foden, who provided the assist for the first goal then made it 2-0 in the 21st minute. In the 34th minute, Raheem Sterling took the entire Chelsea defense apart before his shot hit the woodwork, and Kevin de Bruyne scored from the rebound. Callum Hudson-Odoi pulled one back for the Blues in the 92nd minute, but it was too late to start a comeback.

some of the Blues fans are now calling for the sack of manager Franck Lampard, as Chelsea have dropped to 8th on the log with 26 points in 17 games. Manchester City, on the other hand, moved up to 5th on the log, with 2 games in hand.

Do you think Chelsea will sack Lampard?

Real Madrid continue with their impressive run of form, as the defending La Liga champions scored 2 goals in each half to beat Celta Vigo at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium.

Real Madrid scored the opening goal early in the game after Lucas Vazquez headed home a beautiful cross from Marco Asensio in the 6th minute. The Blancos then made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute as Vazquez gave a wonderful assist to Asensio, who blasted the ball past the keeper in the 18-yard box.

Real Madrid remain second on the log, two points behind leaders, Atletico Madrid, who have played two games less. Celta Vigo, on the other hand, dropped to 8th on the La Liga table with 23 points in 17 matches.

Do you think Real Madrid can defend the La Liga title?

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner, Lionel Messi has endured a poor start in what may be his last season at Barcelona. With his stats this season, My11 looks at the Argentine's stats for the 2020/2021 season. 

After enduring a trophyless 2019/2020 campaign, Barcelona have not started the new season well, and some fans are attributing it to Messi's transfer saga.

The 33-year-old has featured for the Catalan giants 18 times this season (14 in La Liga), and he has scored 10 goals in all competitions (7 in the league) and 5 of his 10 goals were from the penalty spot.

Messi is arguably the greatest Barcelona player of all time, but since the transfer saga last summer, the little magician has dropped his level of performance. While some are saying age has affected his form, others are saying "Messi is finished".

Do you think Messi is finished? 

After fears of COVID-19 in the Manchester City camp, Pep Guardiola’s team are now fully ready and they will be traveling to London to face Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

In 46 Premier League meetings between these two teams, Chelsea have won 26 games, while Manchester City have won 13 matches, with the other 7 games ending in a draw. Their last 5 encounters have ended in home wins for the hosts.

Chelsea will be without Reece James, Hakim Ziyech, and Marco van Ginkel due to injury. Manchester City, on the other hand, will be without Ilkay Gündogan and Eric García due to injury, while Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus will miss out after a positive COVID-19 test.

Frank Lampard’s charge are on a poor run of form, with just 1 win in their last 5 matches, and fans are now complaining about their tactics of the gaffer, but the Cityzens look to be hitting their form steadily, with brilliant defensive resilience. This looks like a match Pep Guardiola’s men will edge after 90 minutes.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 203, SuperSport Premier League on Sunday, January 3 2021, by 5:30 pm Naija time.

Real Madrid dropped points for the first time in 6 games following a one-all draw away to Elche but will hope to bounce back as they will be welcoming in form Celta Vigo to the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium on Saturday.

In the last La Liga meetings between these two teams, Real Madrid have won 15 games, while Celta Vigo have won just 2 matches, with the other 2 games ending in a draw. The Blancos have scored at least 2 goals in each of their last 8 clashes with Celta.

Real Madrid will be without young Brazilian, Rodrygo Goes, who picked up an injury against Granada. Celta Vigo, on the Other hand, will be without David Junca, Kevin Vazquez, and Sergio Alvarez due to injury.

Both teams have a similar run of form, having won 6 games and drawn 1 match in their last 7 games in all competitions, but the Real Madrid have better quality, but Celta captain, Iago Aspas, can break through any defense, and he will be a terror for Zidane’s team. The defending champions should do enough to nick this encounter.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 204, SuperSport La Liga on Saturday, January 2 2021, by 9 pm Naija time.

Nigerian-born forward, Bukayo Saka scored a spectacular goal for Arsenal in their 3-1 win over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, but the goal has stirred up debate on social media. 

Saka chipped the goalkeeper from the right side of the box, and after the match, the Gunners forward said he saw the keeper off the line and decided to chip him.

After the match, Saka tweeted and said "saw him off his line". While some fans agreed with him, many said it was a fluke. 

Saka's Three Lions teammate, Jack Grealish disagreed with him, calling him q liar (meaning he believes it was a fluke). The Aston Villa captain said: "ur to funny man! Liar".

Do you think it was a fluke or not?

Naija Super Eagles forward, Samuel Chukwueze came on as a second-half substitute, but he could do nothing as Sevilla defeated Villarreal 2-0 at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Tuesday night.

Sevilla scored the first goal early in the game after Marcos Acuña’s shot was handled in the 18-yard box by Juan Foyth, and Lucas Ocampos scored the resulting penalty in the 8th minute. The Argentine then became a provider, after sending a defense splitting pass to Youssef En-Nesyri, and the Moroccan coolly finished past the keeper. Chukwueze’s late attempt to score for the Yellow Submarine was well saved by Sevilla goalie, Bono.

Sevilla have now moved above Villarreal into the fourth position on the log with 26 points in 14 games, while the Yellow Submarine dropped to fifth on the La Liga table, with 26 points in 16 matches.

Naija Super Eagles defender, Semi Ajayi leads the round 16 team of the week, following an impressive performance as West Brom picked up a point against Liverpool. My11 will be looking at a 3-4-3 formation.

Goalkeeper:

Illan Meslier | He was in fine form as Leeds United defeated Burnley 1-0. He made 6 saves and won 5 aerial duels to help his team keep a clean sheet.

Defenders:

Kortney Hause | The Englishman had a solid performance as 10-men Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 3-0. He scored one of the goals, had a game-high of 11 clearances and 9 aerial duels won. He also helped the Villans keep a clean sheet.

Yeri Mina | The Colombian put up a brilliant shift as Everton were 1-0 victors over Sheffield United. He had a game-high of 100 touches and 8 clearances, helping the Merseyside Blues keep a clean sheet.

Semi Ajayi | The Naija Super Eagles star was a solid rock for West Brom as they picked up a point against Liverpool at Anfield. He made 8 clearances in the match and scored a late equalizer to help the Magpies salvage a point.

Midfielder:

Tomáš Souček | The Czech international continued his good run as he put up another lovely performance for West Ham in their 2-2 draw against Brighton. He won 8 aerial duels, 3 shots, and he scored a late equalizer for the Hammers.

André-Frank Zambo Anguissa | The Cameroonian put up a man of the match performance for Ola Aina’s Fulham in their goalless draw against in-form Southampton. He had a game-high of 6 dribbles, 10 tackles, 2 shots, and 3 interceptions.

Granit Xhaka | The Switzerland international put up his best performance in a long time for Arsenal, as the Gunners defeated London rivals Chelsea 3-1. Xhaka scored a magnificent free-kick in the encounter. He had the most passes of all Arsenal players in the encounter.

Bruno Fernandes | The Portuguese is just in an unstoppable form and in Manchester United’s 2-2 draw against Leicester City, he rose to the occasion again, scoring a goal and providing an assist. He had a game-high of 3 shots, 3 key passes, and 3 crosses.

Forward:

Anwar El-Ghazi | The Dutchman has been at the heart of Aston Villa’s resurgence, scoring in 5 straight games, and in their 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace, and their Monday night football, he also hit the score sheet. In the win against the Eagles, he hit 5 shots and a game-high of 6 dribbles.

Harvey Barnes | The 23-year-old forward scored back-to-back long-range shots to help salvage points for Leicester City against Manchester United and Crystal Palace. He was a thorn in the flesh for the Red Devils and was fouled 4 times in the encounter.

Raheem Sterling | The England international had a very good game in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Newcastle. He tore the Baggies defense with his mesmerizing skills, completing 3 dribbles and he was fouled 3 times. He provided the assist for the first goal.

Manager:

Mikel Arteta | Following lots of criticism due to poor performance, the former midfielder led his team against Chelsea with young boys, and he tactically outsmarted and outclassed Frank Lampard. This win could be the turn of fortune for the Gunners.