Naija Nightmares

Iwobi and Bassey were the architects of Manchester United's latest setback, with the Red Devils falling to a 2-1 home defeat by Fulham.

Iwobi left it rather late at Old Trafford, snaring all three points for the Cottagers in the 97th minute after it looked as though the hosts had salvaged a point. This was surely Iwobi's highlight since arriving in West London.

Benefiting from a lively cameo by Adama Traoré, he was fed by the Spain international, cutting into the right channel, forged some space as a feint sent Amad Diallo the wrong way, and then whipped a right-footed effort down low beyond André Onana.

It was a dazzling conclusion to a superb Fulham display, securing maximum points after it had looked as though Harry Maguire had salvaged a draw with an 89th-minute equaliser.

At that point, Fulham had been in the lead for almost 25 minutes, with Bassey getting a second bite of the cherry after his initial effort from an Andreas Pereira corner cannoned back to him off Timothy Castagne, leaving the defender to slam home into the roof of Onana's net.

For Bassey, Fulham's victory was due to their players' greater desire to prevail than their United counterparts... a damning indictment of Ten Haag's charges.

"They have got top players, a top manager and players that can have an effect off the bench, but we were just at it more and I felt we wanted it more," he told journalists after the match.

"That showed in the way we played. I don't think you can just come here and overrun them. You can see the quality of the players they have."

The Nigerian double act secured Fulham's first win at Old Trafford in 21 years, and particularly for Iwobi, was an excellent response to the Super Eagles' AFCON final heartbreak.

Earlier this month, Cottagers coach Marco Silva revealed that the 27-year-old had been subjected to online abuse after Nigeria's defeat by the Ivory Coast, and this was about as emphatic a response to the trolls as Iwobi could muster.

"I'm over the moon right now to come back into the team and get a win at Old Trafford, a big stadium like this, there is no better feeling," he told the club's official handle.

"We feel like we performed really well, we've been performing well recently it is just about getting the results but at Old Trafford we did."

Fulham, now up to 32 points in 12th place, next host Brighton on Saturday, while United prepare for Sunday's Manchester derby agains a high-flying City side that smashed Luton 6-2 on Tuesday.

An Italian showdown

The last time Cagliari's Zito and Napoli superstar Osimhen crossed paths, it was in the Nations Cup quarterfinal at Abidjan, where the latter led the line for the Super Eagles as they dumped Angola out of the AFCON.

Ademola Lookman scored the only goal of the game, as Luvumbo - who was introduced by Os Palancas Negras with 24 minutes to play - strived to give Angola some late inspiration to turn the tie around. He wasn't able to do so, and the Lusophone side were sent packing, as Osimhen and co. advanced to the tournament final.

This past weekend, the pair squared off again, and once more, it looked like Osimhen would come out on top in Francesco Calzona's first match in charge of Napoli.

The reigning African Footballer of the Year opened the scoring an hour into the contest, when he met Giacomo Raspadori's cross with a close-range header at the far post, having earlier directed another header straight at Simone Scuffet.

It was his eighth league goal of the campaign, and his 10th across all competitions for the Partenopei although Osimhen should have extended the lead when, after beating the offside trap, he hit the post twice in quick succession, meeting his own rebound but somehow managing to again strike the woodwork despite facing an open goal.

Nonetheless, it looked like it would be enough to give Napoli the win they needed to reignite their flagging title defence. Luvumbo had other ideas, succeeding where he'd failed in the Ivory Coast by truly adding dynamism - unsettling the Napoli defence - and getting his just rewards in the 95th minute.

The strike, a magnificent touch-pirouette-finish to meet a long ball forward, capped off a scintillating display by the left-sider; no one in the match created more goalscoring chances, while he also drew three fouls from the Partenopei backline before ending a goal drought that stretched back to late October.

Zito's late goal ensured that 19th-placed Cagliari avoided defeat in consecutive matches for the first time since mid-January, and keeps them level on points with Hellas Verona in 17th.

For Osimhen and Napoli, yet more dropped points means their winless streak extends to four matches in all competitions, while they remain down in ninth, a whopping 29 points behind leaders Internazionale.

Comeback Coach

Who could have imagined, when Jean Louis Gasset was dismissed by eventual winners Ivory Coast in the groups stage at AFCON, that just over a month later, he'd be overseeing a successful start to life as head coach of arguably France's biggest football institution.

OM, seemingly unfazed by Gasset's disastrous AFCON group-stage campaign (regardless of what Emerse Fae subsequently achieved with the side) opted to appoint the 70-year-old on 20 Feb. and since then, his record reads played two, won two, scored seven, conceded two.

Gasset had already broken Les Phoceens' seven-game winless streak by defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 in the Europa League in midweek, and followed that up by thumping Montpellier 4-1 on Sunday for the fallen giants' first league win of 2024.

At the heart of their revival is Gabon's Aubameyang, who followed up on his equaliser against Shakhtar by netting twice against Montpellier, including a second-half penalty.

This was the 34-year-old first double since December 10, with goals from Senegal international Iliman Ndiaye and an own goal from Mali's Falaye Sacko securing an emphatic victory the heralds a remarkable turnaround for Gasset.

It may not have worked for the Ivory Coast, but Gasset certainly has discovered something of a magic touch with Marseille and Aubameyang, who now has eight Ligue 1 goals for the season.