African Goals end Arsenal FA Cup Reign

Football

Nigerian Odion Ighalo and Algerian Adlene Guedioura scored the weekend goals for Watford that ended the two-year reign of Arsenal as FA Cup title-holders.

Striker Ighalo struck with a close-range shot and winger Guedioura with an unstoppable one as Watford pulled off a shock 2-1 quarter-final triumph at the Emirates Stadium.

Democratic Republic of Congo striker Cedric Bakambu bagged a brace for La Liga outfit Villarreal — taking his debut season tally to 16 — but could not prevent a 4-2 loss to Sevilla.

ENGLAND

ADLENE GUEDIOURA (Watford)

Guedioura scored a jaw-dropping goal as Watford stunned Arsenal 2-1 and reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2007. With Watford 1-0 up in the 63rd minute, Troy Deeney rolled a pass into Guedioura’s path and from the right-hand corner of the box he unleashed an unstoppable first-time shot that zipped into the top-right corner.



ODION IGHALO (Watford)

Prolific Ighalo had set Watford on their way to victory by opening the scoring in the 50th minute. Deeney flicked on a long throw from the left and Ighalo collected the ball, held off Arsenal centre-back Gabriel and steered a low shot past goalkeeper David Ospina.

MAX GRADEL (Bournemouth)

Back in the Bournemouth team after six months out with a serious knee injury, Gradel scored his first goal of the season and created another to inspire a 3-2 win over Swansea City that lifted Eddie Howe’s men to within touching distance of Premier League survival. The Ivory Coast international opened the scoring in the 37th minute, slamming home right-footed after Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski palmed Adam Smith’s cross into his path, and teed up a goal for Josh King five minutes into the second half with an astute pass.

MODOU BARROW (Swansea City)

Barrow became the first Gambian to score in the Premier League by netting in his side’s defeat at Bournemouth. The 23-year-old cancelled out Gradel’s opener with a fine goal in the 39th minute, cutting in from the right, bamboozling Charlie Daniels with a double step-over and steering a low shot inside the left-hand post. He also created a goal for Gylfi Sigurdsson with a cut-back.

SADIO MANE (Southampton)

Senegal forward Mane was contentiously sent off during his side’s 2-1 victory at European qualification rivals Stoke City in the Premier League. A 75th-minute replacement for Dusan Tadic at the Britannia Stadium, Mane was shown a straight red card in stoppage time after colliding with Erik Pieters in an innocuous-looking aerial challenge.

ITALY

GODFRED DONSAH (Bologna)

Donsah probably didn’t realise it at the time, but missing an early half-chance, then a much better opportunity against Inter Milan turned the game in the Nerazzurri’s favour. The San Siro clash was scoreless when Donsah narrowly missed a ball yards from goal after a cross. Minutes later, the Ghanaian went on a promising run down the right only to fire well wide from 20 yards. Inter won 2-1.

MOHAMED SALAH (Roma)

Flying Egyptian Salah didn’t score in a 2-1 win at Udinese, but his omnipresence in attack gave the hosts plenty of food for thought during an outing that saw Roma clinch their eighth victory on the trot. Salah’s influence was felt from the outset, the 23-year-old setting up Edin Dzeko with a deft touch for the opener on 15 minutes.

SPAIN

CEDRIC BAKAMBU (Villarreal)

Bakambu continued his fine form with a double, but couldn’t prevent Villarreal losing 4-2 to Sevilla. Bakambu’s second, in particular, was a stunning effort as he volleyed Adrian Lopez’s scooped pass into the far corner.

FRANCE

MAJEED WARIS (Lorient)

The 24-year-old Ghana striker struck the opener on 34 minutes for Lorient against Marseille in a 1-1 draw after Walib Mesloub slipped the ball to him to steer it beyond goalkeeper Steve Mandanda for his fourth goal in three games. It was also Waris’s eighth league goal of the season.

GERMANY

MARVIN MATIP (Ingolstadt)

The Cameroon defender and Ingolstadt captain gave away the late penalty which saw VfB Stuttgart equalise in a thrilling 3-3 draw. With his side 3-2 up, Matip brought down Stuttgart midfielder Filip Kostic on 84 minutes and Daniel Didavi netted the spot-kick.

Sourced- Sportingist