With Liverpool set to take over as Premier
League champions, Manchester City should prioritise Europe and can still
have a “great season” if they win the Champions League, former England
striker Ian Wright has said.

City’s 2-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur
on Sunday was their sixth league defeat of the season, two more than in
the whole of the previous campaign, and left them 22 points behind
Liverpool, who are set to end a 30-year wait for a league title.

But Wright said City, who meet Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League this month, can still salvage their season.

Egypt forward
Mohamed Salah’s double helped Liverpool equal Manchester City’s record
of 20 consecutive Premier League wins and move Jurgen Klopp’s side ever
closer to the title.

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

ENGLAND

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

The
Egypt forward scored twice in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Southampton at
Anfield as the runaway leaders took another step towards winning their
first English title since 1990. With Jurgen Klopp’s side leading through
goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jordan Henderson, Salah struck
in the 71st minute from Henderson’s pass. He scored again from
close-range in stoppage-time to make it 42 games unbeaten for Liverpool
in the league. Liverpool have equalled Manchester City’s record of 20
consecutive Premier League home wins and only Bill Shankly’s Liverpool
team in 1972 had a longer winning streak on home soil in English
top-flight history.

PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAYEYANG (Arsenal)

The
Gabon striker endured a rare off-day against Burnley as the Gunners
were held to a 0-0 draw at Turf Moor. Aubameyang had seven goals in four
previous games against Burnley, but he couldn’t break the deadlock this
time. In his first game back from suspension, he failed to beat Burnley
keeper Nick Pope with a chip, then headed wide from Alexandre
Lacazette’s cross.

MBWANA SAMATTA (Aston Villa)

The Tanzania striker marked his Premier League debut with a goal but couldn’t stop his team suffering a damaging 2-1 loss at fellow strugglers Bournemouth on Saturday. Having joined from Belgian club Genk in January, Samatta was making only his second appearance for Villa and he netted in the 70th minute after being named in the starting line-up. With Villa trailing 2-0, Samatta rose to head home from Keinan Davis’s deflected shot, making the 27-year-old the first Tanzanian to score in the Premier League.

Manchester United
manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has backed Anthony Martial to rediscover
his scoring touch and says the French forward is giving the club
“everything” both on the pitch and the training ground.

The
24-year-old has scored 12 goals in all competitions in an injury-hit
season but has just one in the last six matches as United struggle for
goals in the absence of striker Marcus Rashford, who is nursing a stress
fracture in his back.

“He’s giving us everything. He’s been asked to play – he has started the last eight games – and running probably 20% more than he did when I came here,” Solskjaer told reporters.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he is still
far from bedding in his attacking philosophy at the club but is hopeful
that a training camp in Dubai can help the players recharge their
batteries and soak in his ideas.

Arsenal were held 0-0 at Burnley
on Sunday for their fourth straight Premier League draw, leaving Arteta
with only one win from his first seven league matches in charge since
replacing Unai Emery in December.

They have scored only eight goals in those games.

“We have to improve quality-wise. We’re very far in terms of what I want in sustaining attacks and being unpredictable in our play, but that’s a process,” Arteta told Sky Sports.

Newcastle United have signed defender Danny Rose from Tottenham Hotspur on loan until the end of the season.

The
29-year-old is Newcastle manager Steve Bruce’s third signing of the
January transfer window and follows midfielders Valentino Lazaro and
Nabil Bentaleb into the club, who are 14th in the Premier League.

“It’s
a great honour for me to be here,” Rose, who has 29 England caps, told
Newcastle’s website: “I’m so grateful that the manager has brought me in
and I’m looking to repay him in every way I can as soon as I’m
playing.”

Rose had said in November that he was prepared to run down the final 18 months of his contract at Tottenham and leave for free after not being handed a new deal.

Barcelona forward Carles Perez has joined Roma in a deal worth 15.5 million euros, the Spanish club announced on Thursday.

Roma
will pay Barca 1 million euros for an initial loan until June 30. The
deal includes a compulsory option to buy in the summer for 11 million
euros, with a further 3.5 million euros due in additional payments.

Barcelona will also retain first refusal if Roma want to sell Perez in the future.

“I know that I am leaving a very important club in Barcelona but I am joining an equally important club in Roma,” said Perez.

The Spaniard came through Barca’s youth academy and was given his La Liga debut by coach Ernesto Valverde last season.

Brazilian giants Flamengo have confirmed the arrival of Inter striker Gabigol on a permanent deal until the summer of 2024.

Gabigol spent last season on loan at Flamengo and fired Jorge Jesus’ side to their first league title in a decade, as well as their first Copa Libertadores triumph since 1981.

The Brazilian’s performances in South America reportedly caught the eye of Chelsea, who are on the market for a new striker this month.

However, Frank Lampard’s side will have to look at alternatives as Flamengo have signed the 23-year-old on a full-time basis.

Football greats
Didier Drogba, Emile Heskey and Park Ji-sung will headline a charity
match in Australia to raise money for bushfire relief, organisers said
on Tuesday.

Fires have ravaged large tracts of the country,
leaving 33 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed, and sports
stars around the world have been rallying to support recovery efforts.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) said the match is set for May 23 in Sydney and the funds raised will be used to restore soccer facilities damaged by the blazes.

Barcelona will make a late enquiry to sign Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this month, claims The Daily Telegraph.

The Spanish giants desperately want to sign a new forward in the last week of the transfer window with Luis Suarez out for three months.

Barcelona are three points behind Real Madrid in LaLiga after losing 2-0 away to Valencia at the weekend.

Aubameyang was linked with a move to Barcelona and Real Madrid before joining Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018.

The Gabon international is widely expected to leave Arsenal at the end of the season if the Gunners fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Aubameyang, who was made Arsenal captain earlier this season, will only have 12 months left to run on his current contract in the summer.

Arsenal now have to decide whether to sell Aubameyang this month when they can demand a bigger fee or cut their losses at the end of the season for a cut-price deal.

Mikel Arteta is desperate to strengthen this month but Arsenal are currently operating on a tight budget.

Selling Aubameyang for around £50m would certainly free up funds for Arteta but there is such little time left in the window for the Gunners to re-invest right away.

Aubameyang has a phenomenal goalscoring record for Arsenal with 46 goals in 71 games for the Gunners. In fact, no player has scored more times in the Premier League in that period.

Nigeria
international Kelechi Iheanacho was the star African performer in Europe
this weekend, scoring the only goal as Leicester overcame a tough FA
Cup challege.

England

KELECHI IHEANACHO (Leicester)

Iheanacho
took his chance to impress in the absence of the injured Jamie Vardy
with the only goal as Leicester reached the FA Cup fifth round with a
1-0 win at Brentford. The Nigerian’s predatory close-range finish took
his tally to seven goals in just 12 appearances for the Foxes this
season.

SOFIANE BOUFAL (Southampton)

Boufal produced a
brilliant strike late on to secure the Saints an FA Cup replay with
Tottenham in a 1-1 draw. The Moroccan has featured little in
Southampton’s revival of late, but gave Ralph Hasenhuttl a timely
reminder of his talent as he fired high past Hugo Lloris from the edge
of the area.

Italy

MUSA BARROW (Bologna)

Gambian
striker Musa Barrow had an immediate impact, scoring for Bologna in his
first game since moving from Atalanta, in a 3-1 win over SPAL in the
Emilia Romagna derby. Barrow came off the bench just before the hour
mark and within a minute scored the second goal as Bologna earned their
first win in a month to sit four points off the Europa League places.

Germany

ACHRAF HAKIMI (Borussia Dortmund)

Dortmund
right back Hakimi has been clocked at 36.20 km/h this season – the
quickest ever recorded in the Bundesliga – and his raw pace frequently
troubled Cologne down the right flank as his side ran out 5-1 victors at
Signal Iduna Park. After a stellar first half of the season, Hakimi has
been overshadowed by Jadon Sancho and the arrival of Erling Haaland
since the winter break but still remains one of Dortmund’s most potent
attacking threats.

CHRISTOPHER ANTWI-ADJEI (Paderborn)

Ghanaian
midfielder Antwi-Adjei scored his first top-flight goal for Paderborn
in his side’s crucial 2-0 away win over SC Freiburg which lifts his side
off the bottom of the Bundesliga. Antwi-Adjei, who scored 10 goals in
Paderborn’s run to promotion last season, showed impressive balance and
composure to fend off Freiburg defender Jonathan Schmid while sliding
the ball under goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow in the 48th minute to give
Paderborn the lead.

AMINE HARIT (Schalke)

Midfielder
Harit was one of the few Schalke players to emerge with his head held
high after the visitors were put to the sword by a rampant Bayern 5-0 at
Munich’s Allianz Arena. Harit provided spark in midfield for the
visitors, having two clear-cut chances to score in the first half.

Spain

ZOUHAIR FEDDAL (Real Betis)

Moroccan
defender Zouhair Feddal was sent off as Real Betis were undone by a
controversial late penalty in a 1-0 defeat by Getafe in La Liga on
Sunday. Feddal’s red card came in the 90th minute for his protests
against referee Prieto Iglesias’ decision to award Getafe a spot-kick.
Angel Rodriguez converted to lift Getafe up to fourth in the table while
the loss for Betis means they slip to 12th.

France

KARL TOKO EKAMBI (Lyon)

The
Cameroonian only arrived in Lyon on Monday at the start of his loan
period from Villarreal and had his first training session on Wednesday.
Introduced from the bench after 25 minutes in Sunday’s home game against
Toulouse, he made an immediate impact, scoring his goal for the club in
the 77th minute to close out a 3-0 win that leaves Lyon in fifth, five
points off the Champions League places.