Share

African players in Europe: Ayew off target for Palace

The European leagues in Spain, where Zouhair Feddal helped Real Betis in their quest for a European qualification place, and Italy resumed after the festive break and there was cup action in England and France.  

Here is a look at some of the key performances from Africans playing in Europe: 

ENGLAND

JORDAN AYEW (Crystal Palace)

The Ghana striker was unable to stop his Premier League side crashing to a shock 1-0 FA Cup third-round defeat against second-tier Derby on Sunday. Ayew has scored five times this season to establish himself as Palace's main central striker, but he was held without a goal as the Eagles bowed out at their Selhurst Park home. Chris Martin scored Derby's first-half winner and, adding insult to injury for Palace, they had captain Luka Milivojevic sent off after kicking out at Tom Huddlestone

FRANCE

ERIC MAXIM CHOUPO-MOTING (PSG)

The 30-year-old Cameroon forward made the most of a rare start for PSG, who rested a host of big stars, as he scored in the 6-0 French Cup round of 64 rout of sixth-tier amateurs Linas-Montlhery. The former Schalke and Stoke player was on target for the last of the goals, three minutes from time.

SPAIN

ZOUHAIR FEDDAL (Real Betis)

Feddal earned Real Betis a hard-earned point against Alaves on Sunday as his second-half equaliser secured them a 1-1 draw in La Liga. The Moroccan rose high to head in Nabil Fekir's cross 10 minutes after half-time for his first goal of the season, which cancelled out Aleix Vidal's early strike for Alaves. A point at Mendizorroza means Betis are seven points adrift of the European places and have now gone three games without a victory.

ITALY

AMADOU DIAWARA (Roma)

Guinean Diawara came up short in midfield as AS Roma's Champions League push was stalled with a 2-0 home defeat to Torino. Coach Paulo Fonseca blamed a problem in midfield as the Romans' unbeaten five-match run in the league ended. "There were difficulties in the first phase of build-up, with Amadou Diawara and Jordan Veretout," explained Fonseca. It made for a disappointing afternoon for Diawara who said: "We were not good enough at moving around enough to create space to work in."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1473 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2251 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE