Ghana internationals starred in Europe at the weekend with Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus scoring in the Premier League and Inaki Williams in La Liga.
Semenyo gave Bournemouth the lead in their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa and Kudos put West Ham United ahead in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Williams and younger brother Nico were among the goals as Athletic Bilbao beat Rayo Vallecano 4-0 to stay fifth.
Here, AFP Sport highlights the African front-runners in Europe’s major leagues:
Antoine Semyon (Bournemouth)
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Semenyo scored Bournemouth’s first goal in their draw against Villa. The 23-year-old confidently picked out the bottom corner from 12 yards in the 10th minute after Ryan Christie’s pass for his third league goal of the season. But the team were denied a third straight win by Ollie Watkins’ late strike for Villa.
MOHAMED KOUNDUS (West Ham United)
Kudus, 23, scored his third league goal of the season, starting and finishing the move as West Ham took a 13th-minute lead against Palace at the London Stadium, but Odsonne Edouard equalized and they shared the points.
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INAKI WILLIAMS (Athletic Bilbao)
He scored his seventh La Liga goal of the season and his third in four games as the Basque side cruised to a comfortable victory over Vallecano. Williams came close to scoring just after half-time, sending a low effort just wide, but went one better soon after. The 29-year-old curled neatly at the back post after Gorka Guruzeta swept a low ball into the area.
UMAR SADIQ (Real Sociedad)
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Nigerian striker Sadiq followed up his first goal of the season last weekend with another strike to earn Real Sociedad a point in a 1-1 draw at Osasuna. It was another spectacular strike, with Sadiq turning well in midfield, driving forward and then unleashing a rocket across goal and into the top corner. After going 11 league matches this season without scoring, the 26-year-old now has two goals in two games.
VICTOR BONIFACE (Bayer Leverkusen)
Leverkusen striker Boniface scored late on to earn his side a point in a 1-1 home draw with Borussia Dortmund that saw them three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table. With Leverkusen staring at a first defeat in all competitions this season, Boniface was perfectly placed to pounce on Patrik Schick’s clever pass with 11 minutes remaining. “I was happy to score in a game like that… to get a point after conceding so early. But it’s not for me, it’s for the team,” the Nigerian said.
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SERHOU GUIRASSY (VfB Stuttgart)
Making his first start since mid-October after overcoming a hamstring injury, Guirassy converted the penalty to seal Stuttgart’s 2-0 win over Werder Bremen. With Stuttgart leading through an early Deniz Undav goal, Guirassy went to ground after contact with Niklas Stark. The Guinea international has scored 17 goals in 12 games this season.
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