African Players In Europe: Goal King Salah Turns Creator

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah shoots against Manchester City - AFP
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah shoots against Manchester City - AFP
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African Players In Europe: Goal King Salah Turns Creator

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah shoots against Manchester City - AFP
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah shoots against Manchester City - AFP

Prolific Liverpool scorer Mohamed Salah turned creator at the weekend, setting up Trent Alexander-Arnold to equalize and force a 1-1 Premier League draw at Manchester City.

Defending champions City are second and Liverpool third behind leaders Arsenal in a tight title race with only two points separating the top three.

It was a profitable weekend for Nigerians with Ademola Lookman scoring in Italy, Umar Sadiq in Spain and Terem Moffi in France.

The Egypt forward provided the assist as Jurgen Klopp's side escaped with a 1-1 draw from their meeting with Manchester City. Liverpool kicked off at the Etihad Stadium in second place behind City and it was Pep Guardiola's men who drew first blood when Erling Haaland fired home for his 50th Premier League goal in the first half. But Salah helped Liverpool peg back the treble winners in the closing stages when his pass found Alexander-Arnold, who drilled a low shot into the far corner to ensure the two title heavyweights finished level, AFP report highlighted.

- UMAR SADIQ (Real Sociedad)

Sadiq netted his first goal of the season for Real Sociedad in their 2-1 win over Sevilla. The 26-year-old failed to find the net in his first 11 appearances for the club this season in La Liga, but ended his drought with a brilliant strike as he ripped an effort into the top corner from more than 25 yards.

- YOUSSEF EN-NESYRI (Sevilla)

The Moroccan forward continued his good form with a fourth goal in seven league games, but it was not enough to rescue his team a point at Real Sociedad. The striker converted a downward header from close range, showing his predatory instincts in the box.

- ERIC MAXIM CHOUPO-MOTING (Bayern Munich)

Handed just a second league start this season, the Cameroon striker provided impetus and energy in Bayern's 1-0 win over Cologne. While Choupo-Moting has fallen down the pecking order since the arrival of England captain Harry Kane, he created the game's only goal. With 20 minutes gone, Bayern counterattacked and Choupo-Moting's shot was cleared off the line into the path of Kane, who slotted home.

- TEREM MOFFI (Nice)

The Nigerian was perfectly positioned in the 54th minute to score off a swift counterattack and give second-placed Nice a 1-0 home win over lowly Toulouse. It was the fourth goal of the Ligue 1 campaign for the 24-year-old, who played in Lithuania and Belgium before moving to France three years ago.



Bagnaia Wins Japanese Grand Prix Sprint after Leader Acosta Crashes

Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Bagnaia Wins Japanese Grand Prix Sprint after Leader Acosta Crashes

Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia won MotoGP's Japanese Grand Prix sprint on Saturday after leader Pedro Acosta crashed out with four laps to go, reducing his gap with championship leader Jorge Martin, who finished fourth, to 15 points.

Rookie Acosta, who took pole earlier in the day, had overtaken Bagnaia on the third lap to take the lead, but lost control near turn seven, losing the opportunity to win his first MotoGP sprint.

Ducati's Bagnaia, who moved to 357 points ahead of Sunday's race, fought off second-placed Enea Bastianini by 0.181 seconds amid occasional rains in Motegi to win his 16th sprint of the season.

"We had to sacrifice a bit of performance during the race to understand the conditions better... I'm very happy because with this condition it's not very easy to win," Bagnaia said in his post-sprint interview.

Pramac Racing's Martin, who started from the 11th position on the grid after crashing during the qualifying session, started well to take the fifth position in the first lap, facing pressure from Marc Marquez, who eventually overtook him.

Marquez momentarily took second place from Bastianini but the Ducati rider recovered to leave him third.

LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami crashed out of his home grand prix sprint after a collision with teammate Johann Zarco, while Red Bull KTM's Brad Binder, sixth in the championship, quit due to an issue with his bike.

"We´re investigating what happened to cause Brad Binder's sprint to come to a premature end," the team wrote on X. "For now, all we can do is apologize to Brad."