Cameroonian Joël Matip offered a precious 2-1 victory to his club Liverpool against Ajax Amsterdam on September 13, 2022. A meeting during which his Egyptian teammate Mohamed Salah scored, as did Ghanaian Mohammed Kudus for the Dutch club . Another Ghanaian also scored: Kamal Sowah in Club Brugge’s 4-0 victory over FC Porto.
GROUP A
Liverpool (England) – Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) 2-1
Egyptian Mohamed Salah found the net with Liverpool with an unbalanced shot. But the winger was not the hero of this meeting for the Reds. His name is rather Joël Matip. The Cameroonian snatched a crucial victory for a disappointing Liverpuldiens since the start of the season. The star of this meeting, however, could have been the Ghanaian midfielder Mohammed Kudus, author of his second goal in two C1 games. A powerful strike in the English left corner. Note that the Nigerian Calvin Bassey deflected an attempt by Salah on the right post of Ajax, late in the game.
GROUP B
FC Porto (Portugal) – Club Brugge (Belgium) 0-4
Another Ghanaian struck on Tuesday evening: not Denis Odoi (holder in defense) but Kamal Sowah. The latter broke the defense of FC Porto on the second goal of Bruges. The Belgian party could have been even crazier if Nigerian midfielder Raphael Onyedika hadn’t just shot a post. Onyedika was also warned, as was Ivorian defender Abakar Sylla, hero of Club Brugge’s previous match. On the other hand, the match was much less pleasant for the Nigerian defender of FC Porto, Zaidu…
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) – Atletico Madrid (Spain) 2-0
The Dutch side of Ghanaian origin Jérémie Frimpong delivered two subtle assists for Robert Andrich and Moussa Diaby. An evening with success for Bayer since a hand in its surface from Burkinabe defender Edmond Tapsoba was not whistled. Still on the Leverkusen side, the Ivorian Odilon Kossounou was warned. The Mozambican Reinildo was present in the ranks of Atletico Madrid.
GROUP C
Bayern Munich (Germany) – FC Barcelona (Spain) 2-0
Sadio Mané ran a lot. In vain. The Senegalese striker is still far from giving his full measure with Bayern. His Moroccan partner, Noussaïr Mazraoui, came into play in the 21st minute in place of the injured Frenchman Benjamin Pavard. And he proved invaluable in his lane. On the Barcelona side, the Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessié only appeared in the 80th minute and did not have time to influence this meeting.
Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) – Inter Milan (Italy) 0-2
Quiet match for Cameroonian goalkeeper André Onana against the Czechs reduced to ten against eleven. The Senegalese Modou Ndiaye, who entered the game in the 76th minute, could not do anything.
GROUP D
Sporting Portugal (Portugal) – Tottenham (England) 2-0
No African played in this match.
Olympique de Marseille (France) – Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) 0-1
Another setback for OM. Frustrated, Ivorian defender Eric Bailly saw the German club scored on one of his rare clear chances. He left shortly after the hour mark, injured. Portuguese defender of Cape Verdean origin Nuno Tavares started in the left lane, while Moroccan Amine Harit came into play, as did Burkinabè Issa Kaboré. On the Eintracht side, the Franco-Cameroonian Evan N’Dicka was present at the kickoff, unlike his compatriot Junior Dina Ebimbe, who came into play at the end of the match. Franco-Congolese Randal Kolo Muani was at the forefront of the German attack and German-Ghanaian Ansgar Knauff on the left wing.