Victor Osimhen equals decade-long record; could Yoane Wissa rival Mohamed Salah?

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Victor Osimhen moved up to third in the Turkish Super Lig scoring charts with a double as Galatasaray defeated Samsunspor 3-2, extending a recently unprecedented run for the striker as he rediscovers his top form after a testing start to the season.

In the English Premier League, Yoane Wissa and Mohamed Salah demonstrated why they may yet be jostling for the Golden Boot this term, and Omar Marmoush and Serhou Guirassy were again among the goals in the German Bundesliga.

Given the miserable circumstances of Osimhen’s departure from Napoli, and the raised eyebrows that accompanied his arrival at Galatasaray in September, there were no guarantees that he would take to life in Turkey; at least not as immediately as he has done.

The 25-year-old striker has some indisputable qualities, but his concerning recent injury track record and a spell of inactivity before securing the loan move to the Super Lig, as the door closed in Naples, didn’t represent the most convincing context for a switch to Istanbul.

Just over nine weeks later, Osimhen can look back on an outstanding start to life in Turkey, with his performance against Samsunspor equalling a 10-year record.

Osimhen’s brace against Gala’s unlikely title rivals took his season’s tally to six goals, accompanied by two assists, in six league outings. He’s joint third in the scoring charts, despite missing 45% of his possible fixtures, and, per Opta, is the first player since 2014-15 to score a goal or register an assist in each of his first six matches in the Turkish top tier.

Osimhen has certainly hit the ground running, and proved influential as Gala have established a five-point advantage over fierce rivals Fenerbahce at the top of the table. He has also scored two goals and registered one assist in three UEFA Europa League outings.

On Sunday, he delivered arguably his finest showing for his new employers, opening the scoring with a trademark leap to head home Lucas Torreira’s cross inside the first minutes of the game.

Victor Osimhen scored two goals for Galatasaray vs. Samsunspor in a Turkish Super Lig fixture at RAMS Park in Istanbul. Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu via Getty Images
Cameroon’s Olivier Ntcham equalised from the penalty spot for the visitors soon after halftime, but Osimhen restored the hosts’ lead five minutes later, capitalising at the back post when Okan Kocuk couldn’t deal with a high ball and sent it looping into the Nigerian’s path. A simple goal, perhaps, but Osimhen had the presence of mind to anticipate the goalkeeper’s fumble and reacted quickest to restore the advantage.

Michy Batshuayi added a third for Galatasaray before Youssef Ait Bennasser scored a late consolation goal from the spot.

The two headers capped a terrific individual display for Osimhen, who was a consistent threat. He won seven aerial battles, more than any other player on the pitch (the best average for the division is 4.3 won per fixture), attempted nine shots, and created two goal-scoring chances.

Despite the plaudits going his way, the Nigeria striker paid tribute to teammate Mauro Icardi, now embarking on his own road to recovery after sustaining a season-ending ACL injury in Thursday’s Europa League victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Osimhen celebrated by holding up a replica of Icardi’s No. 9 shirt, and, despite Gala’s fine recent form, fans can feel robbed to have been denied the opportunity of seeing the pair — in tandem — tearing up Super Lig defences.

“[Icardi] is a strong leader for us, and I know he’ll come back even stronger,” Osimhen said after the match, although it remains to be seen whether the loss of last season’s top scorer will ultimately prevent Galatasaray from becoming the first side since 2000 to win three Super Lig titles in a row.

With the goals flowing for Osimhen, and his fitness problems behind him for now, a return to the international arena beckons after being named in the Super Eagles squad for this week’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda.

He netted against Benin in the reverse fixture in September before being part of a Nigeria forward line that was silenced by Rwanda in an ignominious 0-0 draw. If Osimhen brings his recent form to bear for Augustine Eguavoen’s side, don’t expect the three-time African champions to draw a blank again.

With one more league goal than Osimhen this season, Yoane Wissa’s return to action, after a month-long absence with an ankle injury picked up against Manchester City, has boosted Brentford.

The Congo DR forward bagged his second double of the season as the Bees defeated Bournemouth 3-2, taking his Premier League tally to seven goals in eight outings.

Wissa equalised with a 27th-minute header, making the most of the opening when Mathias Jensen’s testing throw in was knocked into his path, and doubled his tally just before the hour mark when he lobbed the advancing Kepa Arrizabalaga with a sharp finish after being played in by the bright Vitaly Janelt.

Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford’s regular hero of recent gameweeks, wasn’t particularly impactful but nonetheless set up Mikkel Damsgaard for the Bees’ second equaliser.

“I’m very happy, I think he’s better as a nine and I think he’s developed fantastically,” Brentford boss Thomas Frank said of Wissa. “His overall game with his link up, his hold up, his work ethic and two great goals was very good.

“I know the level of Wissa and Bryan. I know when Ivan [Toney] was out last season, Bryan and Wissa scored a lot of goals. With that knowledge, I knew we wouldn’t lack goals. Both of [Wissa’s] goals were good. He sniffed out the first goal and headed it in, and the last one, it was perfect with composure and great technique to score.”

Wissa may yet be a rival to Mohamed Salah as the Egyptian superstar looks to sign off his storied tenure at Liverpool with another individual award.

The 32-year-old’s excellent form shows no sign of abating, and he inspired the Reds to a 2-0 home victory over Aston Villa — scoring and registering an assist in front of an Anfield crowd beginning to dream of a Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first season.

Salah has now had a hand in 14 goals in 11 league games, with only Haaland scoring more than Salah’s eight in the race for the Golden Boot.

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Salah enjoyed himself against a Villa team that has appeared below last season’s standards in recent fixtures, first setting up Darwin Núñez to open the scoring — despite appearing to be fouled by Leon Bailey — after 20 minutes.

Villa offered precious little going forward, but they refused to fold — at least until the 84th minute, when Salah broke down the right flank, chasing a long ball forward, picked up possession after a failed clearance from Diego Carlos, and bore down on goal before opening his body and sending a left-footed effort beyond Emiliano Martínez.

Salah is eighth outright in the all-time Premier League scoring charts, now two clear of Liverpool great Robbie Fowler, while his assist for Nunez was his 75th in the top flight — moving him above Thierry Henry into 13th in the league’s all-time chart. Salah needs six more assists to move into the top 10 assist-makers in the Premier League era.

Salah won’t be present for Egypt during the international break, having been excused from representing the already-qualified Pharaohs, but his would-be successor, Omar Marmoush, will be in action for the North African giants as they take on Cape Verde and Botswana.

Marmoush, one of the revelations of the season, scored one goal and set up another as Eintracht Frankfurt defeated VfB Stuttgart 3-2 away.

Having played in Hugo Ekitike for 1-0, Marmoush sent a long-range free kick beyond Alexander Nübel in the 62nd minute to give the visitors a commanding 3-0 lead that they would almost fritter away.

Marmoush now has 11 goals in the German top flight this term, tied with Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot. He also has his seven assists, to stand atop the assist chart.

Borussia Dortmund new boy Guirassy isn’t far behind, keeping pace with the other two after a delayed start to the season.

He netted a late first-half penalty in BVB’s 3-1 defeat by Mainz to move up to six league goals in eight outings — representing a third of Dortmund’s Bundesliga goals — since his injury problems dissipated.