Sheyi Ojo – Fulham
Sheyi Ojo enjoyed an incredibly successful return from injury against Sheffield United. The youngster played his first game since dislocating his shoulder almost two months ago and came back with a bang, picking up two goals and an assist. Ojo was sporting a new blonde hairstyle when he pounced on an under-hit backpass and expertly slid the ball past the goalkeeper to make the score 1-1. He was next in action when he made his way down the right side of the pitch and slipped as he hit a cross over to the back post for Ryan Sessegnon to tap in. The score was 3-2 in favour of Fulham at half-time and the excitement didn’t stop there. Ojo’s second goal had a slice of fortune about it as is deflected shot snuck in and the front post. Liverpool target, Sessegnon bagged a hattrick and Fulham ran out 5-4. Ojo will be over the moon, not only with his performance, but the fact that he was back on the pitch. He had a quieter game against Millwall as none of his six shots found the back of the net. Fulham won again, this time by a more discrete 1-0 scoreline.
Taiwo Awoniyi – Royal Excel Mouscron
Every time I call for Taiwo Awoniyi to find a goal he seems to answer. Despite the 3-1 loss to Gent, Awoniyi will be fairly happy with his efforts this weekend as he reacted quickest to a parried shot. The Nigerian forward burst into the box to pick up the loose ball and hit it first time to pick up the sixth goal of his Mouscron career. However, he couldn’t capitalise on any other chances that came his way and his side slowly fell behind. The loss was Mouscron’s fifth in the last six matches as they continue their fall down the table.
Divock Origi – Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg lost 2-1 away to Augsburg and Divock Origi had a fairly quiet game overall. The Belgian played as a right winger managed just two shots on goal. The first was blocked comfortably but the second forced a decent save from the Augsburg ‘keeper around the hour mark. However, Origi was wasteful in possession giving it away three times, more than any other player on the pitch. The loss leaves Wolfsburg in 14th position, just four points above the relegation zone.
Ryan Kent – SC Freiburg
Ryan Kent came on as a half-time substitute during the 2-1 win over Mainz. The Englishman had two shots on target, neither of which troubled the goalkeeper, but it was his distribution where he really excelled. Kent had a 90% pass success rate and made two tackles. Deployed mainly as a striker, he was a constant threat going forward and always looked dangerous. Freiburg have pulled themselves out of the relegation zone with the win and plenty more will be needed if they are to avoid the drop this season.
Connor Randall (Hearts), Shamal George (Carlisle United) and Tomi Gomes (Forest Green Rovers) were all unused substitutes for their fixtures at the weekend, while Allan Rodrigues (Apollon Limassol) wasn’t in the squad for the 4-0 loss to Lyon in the Europa League. Pedro Chirivella (Willem II) and Jordan Williams (Rochdale) were both absent this past week through injury.