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African Players in Europe: Salah Joins Exclusive Group

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's opening goal from a penalty kick during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. (AP)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's opening goal from a penalty kick during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. (AP)
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African Players in Europe: Salah Joins Exclusive Group

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's opening goal from a penalty kick during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. (AP)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's opening goal from a penalty kick during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. (AP)

Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah joined an exclusive group when he opened the scoring in a 3-1 Premier League victory over West Ham United at the weekend.

He became only the fifth player to either score or assist a goal in each of his team's first six league games of a season after David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero and Erling Haaland.

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

ENGLAND

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

His fourth goal this season sparked second-placed Liverpool to a 3-1 win over West Ham at Anfield. Salah converted a 16th-minute penalty after he was brought down by Morocco international Nayef Aguerd.

ABDOULAYE DOUCOURE (Everton)

The Mali midfielder's superb strike helped Everton win in the league for the first time this season and climb out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory at Brentford. Doucoure struck after just six minutes with a half-volley.

SPAIN

INAKI WILLIAMS (Athletic Bilbao)

The Ghana international broke the deadlock in Athletic's 2-0 La Liga win over Alaves after 18 minutes when he was sent through on goal, after a clever run in behind the defense. The striker missed a fine chance to double his tally when he slashed an effort off-target with his left foot when well placed.

GERMANY

ERIC MAXIM CHOUPO-MOTING (Bayern Munich)

Choupo-Moting opened the scoring after just four minutes in Bayern's 7-0 Bundesliga rout of lowly Bochum. The Cameroon international tapped in for his first goal of the season in his first league start.

VICTOR BONIFACE (Bayer Leverkusen)

Boniface continued his blistering start with Leverkusen, scoring another brace in a 4-1 win over promoted Heidenheim. The Nigerian smashed the ball home to give Bayer an early lead and netted from a second-half penalty.

SERHOU GUIRASSY (Stuttgart)

Guirassy was another African to score twice, as Stuttgart defeated Darmstadt 3-1. The Guinea international struck with a shot and a dink to raise his season total to 10 goals from five matches.

FRANCE

JEREMIE BOGA (Nice)

The France-born Ivory Coast international winger came off the bench to score a stoppage-time Ligue 1 winner for Nice as they beat local rivals Monaco 1-0 away after Folarin Balogun had two penalties saved for the home team. It was the 26-year-old's first goal since a big-money move from Atalanta in the close season.

STEVE MOUNIE (Brest)

The Benin international forward came off the bench to head a late winner as Brest beat struggling Lyon 1-0. The result left the unheralded club from Brittany on top of the table, a point clear of Nice and two ahead of both Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco.

MORGAN GUILAVOGUI (Lens)

Guinea international Guilavogui was another player to star off the bench as he came on as a substitute and grabbed a late winner for Lens against Toulouse. Last season's runners-up came from behind to win 2-1 and claim their first victory of the campaign.

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'We Love Life': Gaza's War-weary Footballers Play On

In the courtyard of a displaced persons shelter in north Gaza's Jabalia, two football clubs squared off - AFP
In the courtyard of a displaced persons shelter in north Gaza's Jabalia, two football clubs squared off - AFP
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'We Love Life': Gaza's War-weary Footballers Play On

In the courtyard of a displaced persons shelter in north Gaza's Jabalia, two football clubs squared off - AFP
In the courtyard of a displaced persons shelter in north Gaza's Jabalia, two football clubs squared off - AFP

On an improvised pitch in war-ravaged Gaza, a young player and goalkeeper block out the boisterous crowd and focus solely on the football as they square off.

The referee blows the whistle and the penalty-taker fires the ball into the makeshift goal, sparking wild celebrations as spectators swarm him.

For fans and players, Tuesday's match in the Jabalia refugee camp was a welcome distraction from the pangs of hunger and exhaustion endured over nearly 300 days of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Referee Rami Mustafa Abu Hashish told AFP that football helped "restore a semblance of life" to Jabalia, devastated by Israeli bombardments and fighting which have laid waste to schools, stadiums and homes, and uprooted families many times over.

In the courtyard of a school-turned-shelter, the two sides vied for a trophy one player said was salvaged from the rubble.

The game created a festive atmosphere, with spectators pulling out chairs and leaning over the railings of the three-story compound to cheer.

A group of boys packed onto an empty lorry bed for a better view.

"We will play despite hunger and thirst, we will compete because we love life," read one child's sign in both English and Arabic.

Jabalia was hit particularly hard in an Israeli offensive launched in May, part of a fierce campaign sweeping northern Gaza -- an area the military had previously said was out of the control of Hamas militants.

As fighting rages, humanitarian agencies struggle to deliver aid and warn of a looming famine.

Residents have told AFP there is barely any food left in the north, and what little reaches them comes at an astronomical cost.

For the footballers, the match offered a rare escape from concerns about food and water shortages.

They have been unable to play since the October 7 outbreak of the war triggered by Hamas's attacks.

"Since the war on the Gaza Strip, we've stayed away from sports because all the clubs were destroyed, all the playgrounds were destroyed, but today, we made something out of nothing," said Saif Abu Saif, one of the players.

The Gaza education ministry says 85 percent of educational facilities in the territory are out of service because of the war.

Many have been turned into shelters for war displaced as most of the besieged strip's 2.4 million people have been uprooted multiple times.

Coach Wael Abu Saif said he was determined to attend Tuesday's match despite still experiencing pain from wounds sustained in a February attack. Now in a wheelchair, he said he lost the use of both his legs.

"I've loved football since I was a child, I love tournaments, I love playing," he told AFP.

"I want to prove to the whole world... that we continue to move forward with the most basic of our rights, which is to play football."