Dami Ugbane, Special to ESPN 6y

How Nigerians fared in Europe this weekend

There were some milestones reached by Nigerians in Europe this weekend, though not all of them ended with a smile.

England
Wilfred Ndidi was shown a 61st-minute red card -- for two bookable offences -- on his 21st birthday as Leicester City were hammered 3-0 at home by Crystal Palace. Probably not the card he would have wanted on his big day.

Victor Moses was on for 82 minutes as Chelsea defeated Southampton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. The wing-back made his 200th Premier League appearance, a landmark milestone after eight seasons.

Alex Iwobi was in action for 72 minutes as Arsenal beat Newcastle United 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium. The attacking midfielder was subbed after picking up a knock and the Gunners will hope he is available for the busy festive schedule.

In the Championship, Sone Aluko saw 77 minutes of game-time for Reading, who lost 2-0 away at Ipswich Town, while Ola Aina featured at left-back for struggling Hull City, who were edged 1-0 at high-flying Cardiff City.

Italy
Orji Okonkwo played 70 minutes of Bologna's 3-0 home defeat to Juventus.

Spain
Olarenwaju Kayode played the final 15 minutes on his return from injury for Girona in a 1-0 home win against Getafe.

France
Chidozie Awaziem was a 76th-minute substitute -- his second successive exclusion from Nantes starting line-up -- in a 1-0 win against Angers.

Netherlands
Bartholomew Ogbeche failed to score for a sixth consecutive league game for Willem II, who lost 3-2 at home to PEC Zwolle. Kingsley Ehizibue was on for 83 minutes for the winning team.

Tyronne Ebuehi played the entire match for ADO Den Haag, who were hammered 3-0 away at PSV Eindhoven.

Germany
Leon Balogun was subbed at halftime with Mainz 05 trailing; a tactical substitution by his coach in an eventual 2-2 draw away to Werder Bremen.

Victor Osimhen was an 81st-minute substitute for Vfl Wolfsburg, who lost 1-0 away to bottom club Cologne.

Super Eagles hopeful Noah Sarenren-Bazee featured for the last seven minutes of Hannover 96's eight-goal thriller against Bayern Leverkusen, which ended 4-4.

Belgium
Taiwo Awoniyi lasted the distance for Royal Excel Mouscron, who were 1-0 winners against Oostende. Joseph Akpala was a 76th-minute substitute for the losing side.

Four Nigerians were in action across both teams when Standard Liege were held to a 0-0 draw by Gent. Uche Agbo continued to be ever-present in the Liege midfield, while Moses Simon, Anderson Esiti and Samuel Kalu made the Gent line-up.

Former Flying Eagles captain and current Kortrijk midfielder Abdul Ajagun was in action for 71 minutes in his side's 2-0 home win against KV Mechelen.

Both Dennis Bonaventure and Henry Onyekuru were introduced as 74th- and 58th-minute substitutes for Club Brugge and Anderlecht respectively, a game which ended 5-0 in favour of Club Brugge.

Portugal
Oghenekaro Etebo was substituted in regulation time after receiving an 83rd minute booking, as Feirense were 1-0 winners at home to Vitoria de Setubal.

Scotland
2013 AFCON winner Efe Ambrose had a day to forget when Hibernian were defeated 4-1 away at Aberdeen.

Austria
Ibrahim Alhassan played the final 26 minutes of Austria Wien's 1-0 win against Sturm Graz.

Switzerland
Stephen Odey earned a third successive start for FC Zurich in a 45-minute outing which ended in a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Lausanne. Turkey Kenneth Omeruo made the Kasimpasa line-up and was on from start to finish, while international teammate Emem Eduok was a 68th-minute substitute as the Apaches battled to a 0-0 draw away to Genclerbirligi.

Elderson Echiejile, for a second successive weekend, made the Sivasspor bench in a 1-1 draw against Alanyaspor, a sign of full recovery from an injury sustained on international duty against Zambia in October.

William Troost-Ekong played the full match for Bursaspor on a day they lost 1-0 away to Trabzonspor, who had Ogenyi Onazi benched for the match duration, his first exclusion from the line-up in seven games.

Okechukwu Azubuike saw 80 minutes of game-time for Yeni Malatyaspor, managed a 2-1 upset against Galatasaray.

Raheem Lawal and Aminu Umar were both in action in the 5-1 defeat Osmanlispor suffered in the hands of Besiktas.

Cyprus
Abdullahi Shehu, the man at the centre of Nigeria's latest FIFA sanction, lasted the distance for leaders Anorthosis in a 2-0 away win at Aris Limassol.

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