Apart from Rangers’ Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun, it was a night of delight for all the Nigerian players in the Europa League’s action on Thursday, March 18, 2021.

Samuel Chukwueze, Iyayi Believe Atiemwen and Peter Olayinka all played crucial roles as their respective sides progressed to the Europa League’s quarterfinals.

This is how all the Nigerian players fared in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Chukwueze’s assist

Samuel Chukwueze had a good night in the Europa League on Thursday (Twitter/Villarreal)Samuel Chukwueze had a good night in the Europa League on Thursday (Twitter/Villarreal)

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After winning 2-0 away from home against Dynamo Kyiv in the first leg, Samuel Chukueze’s Villarreal completed the job with another 2-0 win at home on Thursday.

Chukwueze created the first goal of the night with a cross which he floated from the right to the back post from where Gerard Moreno arrived to emphatically head down into the ground and past the goalkeeper.

The Nigerian forward had a bright evening, asking questions of the Dynamo Kyiv’s defence.

There was a moment he dribbled and sat two defenders with his nibbling feet.

He played from the start but was taken out in the 71st minute.

Atiemwen helps Zagreb to knock out Totttenham

Iyayi Believe Atiemwen grabbed an assist as Zagreb shocked Tottenham  (Getty Images)Iyayi Believe Atiemwen grabbed an assist as Zagreb shocked Tottenham (Getty Images)

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Dinamo Zagreb had a 2-0 deficit heading into their second leg against Tottenham, but that didn’t deter them.

On Thursday, they pulled off probably the most shocking result of this Europa League stage and beat Tottenham 3-0.

It was Nigerian forward Iyayi Atiemwen who helped Zagreb to that result. His assist led to the second goal of the night, which came in the 82nd minute.

He had far too much time on the right, cutting back to the penalty spot, where Mislav Orsic ran onto it and smashed a right-footed finish into the top left corner.

This was after he was just introduced in the 75th minute. He had a busy night for the remainder of the game as Zagreb scored in extra-time to dump Tottenham out of the competition.

Peter Olayinka on target, Leon Balogun sees red

In one of the most action-packed games of the night, Peter Olayinka’s Slavia Praha beat Rangers 2-0 to progress to the quarterfinals.

The first leg ended 1-1, and Slavia Praha drew first blood in the second leg through Olayinka in the 14th minute.

He did well to get across his man and head the ball beyond the Rangers goalkeeper from a cross from the right.

He had an okay first half before he was taken off in the 58th minute.

His compatriots and opponents on the night Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun were on from the start for Rangers.

After a poor first half, Aribo fared better in the second and played some nice passes from midfield. However, his performance on the night was not enough to help Rangers, who were reduced to nine men after two red cards.

One of those sending offs was for Balogun, whose foul in the 73rd minute earned him a second yellow card.

It was from his own doing. He lost the ball with a heavy touch on the edge of his penalty area and lunged into the opposition player that stole possession. That foul earned him a second yellow card and reduced Rangers to nine men after an earlier red card.

To make matters worse, Praha doubled their lead from the resulting set-piece.