Last year, Mikel Obi joined the elite group of Nigerians to win the coveted UEFA Champions League as Chelsea, under manager Roberto Di Matteo, defeated Bayern Munich 4-3 in Germany, becoming only the fourth English team to win the title.
Before Mikel’s success, Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George were the only Nigerians to win the competition with Ajax in 1995.
This season, Mikel tops a list of six Nigerians in the race for the title as they all look to enrich their profiles in world football.
Mikel and his club, Chelsea, started their campaign on a poor note on Wednesday, unexpectedly losing 2-1 to visiting Basel at Stamford Bridge. Mikel did not start the game but was introduced in the 76th minute, replacing Marco van Ginkel as manager, Jose Mourinho, sought to change the game without success.
Chelsea’s next game is against Steaua Bucuresti on October 1.
Celtic are not favourites to win this year’s Champions League and it was no surprise when they lost 2-0 to AC Milan in Italy on Wednesday. Efe Ambrose, however, had an impressive outing with the Scottish team as he displayed his aerial prowess to deny Milan from set pieces. He partnered well with Van Dijk to keep Matri and Balotelli at bay. The 77th minute yellow card he got in the game did little to slow him down.
Last season, Ambrose won the Scottish league and the Scottish Cup, leaving him the Champions League as the next big thing to win in Europe.
His next challenge is to devise means of stopping Lionel Messi when Celtic host Barcelona on October 1.
Fanendo Adi was only unlucky not to bag his first goal in the competition on Tuesday as he helped Danish Supa Liga champions, København, to a 1-1 draw against Juventus.
The 22-year-old striker had a few chances against the Italian giants but failed to take his chances. He was substituted for Rúrik Gíslason in the 70th minute.
Adi joined the Danish champions in the summer after two seasons in Slovenia playing for Trenčín. He will travel with the team to face Real Madrid in Spain on October 2.
Michael Olaitan was not listed for Olympiakos Piraeus of Greece when they hosted and lost 4-1 to Paris Saint-Germain at the Georgios Karaiskáki Stadium. The Flying Eagles midfielder has only made one league appearance for the Greek champions since joining them in the summer from rivals Veria.
Ahmed Musa could not help CSKA survive the German onslaught on Tuesday as Bayern Munich continued from where they stopped last season, dominating their opponents in the Champions League.
Musa’s movement, until he was substituted in the 74th minute, was continually checked by the European champions as David Alaba, Mario Mandžukić and Arjen Roben struck thrice to seal victory at home.
The former Kano Pillars player will be back when they host Viktoria Plzeň on October 2.
Former Hoffenheim striker, Chinedu Ogbuke, was not listed in the Schalke 04 match against Steaua Bucureşti as the German team romped to a 3-0 victory at home. Ogbuke has not made any appearance for the Bundesliga side this season; he made only four appearances for the team last season. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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