It was a day of mixed emotions for Nigerian players on Saturday as the finals of the German Cup and Scottish Cup took place in Germany and Scotland respectively, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
In Germany, Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella quickly put Wednesday’s Europa League final defeat to Atalanta behind them to celebrate a double triumph after helping Bayer Leverkusen beat second division side Kaiserslautern 1-0 in the final of the German Cup.
Leverkusen bounced back from their UEFA Europa League final heartbreak to complete an unprecedented unbeaten domestic double, adding the DFB-Pokal to their maiden Bundesliga title at the Olympiastadion. This victory means the freshly-crowned Bundesliga champions clinched their first-ever domestic double.
Prior to this season’s Bundesliga title, Leverkusen’s last trophy was the 1993 German Cup. The 2023/24 season will undoubtedly be a memorable one for the Nigerians. While Tella made a late cameo, coming on in the 92nd minute to replace Jeremie Frimpong, Boniface, who remains the club’s top scorer, was an unused substitute.
On the other hand, it was a disappointing moment for Afeez Aremu, who also watched from the bench as Kaiserslautern suffered defeat on Saturday.
Meanwhile, it was agony for Cyriel Dessers and his Rangers teammates as Adam Idah scored a 90th-minute winner to secure Celtic’s 42nd Scottish Cup with a narrow 1-0 victory over their Old Firm rivals at Hampden Park.
With the final goalless at halftime, Rangers thought they had found the crucial breakthrough when Abdallah Sima turned the ball in from a corner, only to see his effort ruled out following a VAR review. Idah proved to be Celtic’s hero, pouncing on a rebound to tuck the ball into the awaiting net, sparking scenes of jubilation among those wearing green and white, much to the despair of Rangers.
Dessers was in action for only 45 minutes as Rangers boss Philippe Clement opted to make a change at halftime, swapping the Nigerian for Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Sima. This decision by the manager meant that the 29-year-old could not add to his 30 goal contributions (22 goals and eight assists) for the season. He finished behind Boniface, who has 21 goals and 10 assists, making Boniface the Nigerian player with the most goal contributions across the major leagues in Europe.
Rangers’ defeat to Celtic was a major blow to their hopes of ending the season with silverware, having already lost the Scottish Premiership title to their arch-rivals.
Punchng.
