African players in Europe: Salah tumbles to first derby loss

Egyptian star Mohamed Salah suffered his first defeat in a Merseyside derby as troubled Liverpool fell 2-0 to arch Premier League rivals Everton at the weekend.

The two-time African Footballer of the Year failed to score for the first time in four games and was accused of diving after a theatrical tumble in a failed attempt to win a free-kick.

Burkinabe Bertrand Traore did manage to score for Aston Villa, but also finished a loser as visiting Leicester City won 2-1.

Here, AFP Sport rounds up the performances of African stars in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

Everton beat Liverpool for the first time at Anfield since 1999 as Salah endured an evening to forget. Liverpool are now five points adrift of the top four in their bid to rescue Champions League qualification.

BERTRAND TRAORE (Aston Villa)

He scored his sixth goal this season to give Villa hope of a fightback after trailing by two goals at half-time. Traore fired home from close range after Matt Targett’s low cross evaded Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

SPAIN

IDRISSA DOUMBIA (Huesca)

The Ivorian midfielder helped Huesca win a five-goal thriller with Granada that keeps the team’s La Liga survival hopes alive. Doumbia was brought on to protect Huesca’s advantage after three goals towards the end of the first half gave them a 3-1 lead. Granada pulled one goal back before the hour but Huesca held on for a 3-2 win.

ITALY

FRANCK KESSIE (AC Milan)

After Kessie’s Milan suffered in a 3-0 derby defeat to Inter, the Ivorian midfielder urged his teammates to get their push for a first title since 2011 back on track next weekend against Roma. “When you lose it hurts, but we have to raise our heads because there are still so many games to go,” said Kessie, with Milan trailing leaders Inter by four points.

VICTOR OSIMHEN (Napoli)

Nigeria forward Osimhen was hospitalised after losing consciousness following a knock to the head in a 4-2 defeat to Atalanta. The 22-year-old was stretchered off the pitch on 90 minutes after hitting his head on the ground following a challenge from an Atalanta defender.

MUSA BARROW (Bologna)

Gambian Barrow had a role in Bologna’s goal in a 1-1 draw at Sassuolo, the Atalanta loanee pouncing on a defensive error to pull back for Roberto Soriano to fire in.

GERMANY

EDMOND TAPSOBA (Bayer Leverkusen)

The Burkina Faso defender slotted home a last-gasp equaliser to rescue a point for Bayern Leverkusen in a 1-1 draw at Augsburg, which kept his side fifth. Tapsoba claimed only his second goal this season after being left unmarked to convert a cross by Demarai Gray.

AMADOU HAIDARA (RB Leipzig)

The Mali midfielder put in a solid hour as Leipzig swept past Hertha Berlin 3-0 to trim Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga to just two points. Haidara was solid in the middle of the park before making way for Nordi Mukiele.

IHLAS BEBOU (Hoffenheim)

The Togolese forward opened the scoring in Hoffenheim’s 4-0 home romp against Werder Bremen after being put into space behind the defence. “I thought I might have been offside,” Bebou admitted to Sky. Bebou has scored in his last three league games to raise his season total to six.

FRANCE

SINALY DIOMANDE (Lyon)

An injury to Brazilian stalwart Marcelo meant 19-year-old Diomande started in central defence for a fourth straight game as Lyon won 3-2 at Brest to get their title bid back on track. Raised in Abidjan, Diomande recently told L’Equipe about growing up in a 15-child family. He made it into football after joining an academy in Mali and from there being picked up by Lyon in September 2019 before becoming a first-team squad regular this season.

LAMINE GUEYE (METZ)

Gueye, 22, scored what turned out to be the decisive goal as Metz won 2-1 at Nice to keep alive their unlikely bid to qualify for Europe. The winger has broken into the Metz team this season, becoming the latest in a long line of Senegalese talents to make a name for themselves with the club. Gueye’s Senegalese predecessors at Metz include Sadio Mane, Papiss Demba Cisse, Ismaila Sarr and Kalidou Koulibaly.