African MVPs of the weekend: Marmoush and Lookman dazzle

For once, there is not one, but 2 African MVPs ex-aequo, chosen this weekend by Sport News Africa: Omar Marmoush and Ademola Lookman. To earn this honor, the Nigerian and the Egyptian were resplendent with Atalanta against AC Milan, and with Frankfurt against Bayern Munich.

Lookman tames AC Milan

Nigerian striker Ademola Lookman lifted Atalanta to a 3-2 victory over AC Milan with a brace in one of the shocks of Serie A matchday 15. He tormented the Lombardy defense, especially Tomori, who suffered as a result of the Nigerian international's speed and effective play in tight spaces. The Nigerian opened the scoring in the 38th minute. Giroud restored Milan's lead in first-half stoppage time. Lookman resumed his heroics to restore the DEA's lead (55th). But Luka Jovic once again gave Milan an equalizer (80th). But Gasperini's men were not to be denied.

Luis Muriel scored the winner in the 95th minute. Lookman, according to some Italian media, put in a near-perfect performance. The only downside was that he could have been more clinical, having created more clear-cut chances to score. The player is well on the way to bettering, if not repeating, his statistics from last season (13 goals, 6 assists).

His coach was full of praise for his player's top-class performance. "He can't play every game like he did tonight, otherwise he'd be a monster. You have to understand that days aren't always good and you have to make yourself available for the team: I think he's a good guy," he declared.

With these 2 goals, Ademola Lookman took his total to 6 goals in 15 league games. He also scored 2 assists. With Lookman's help, the DEA have come through a difficult period, with 3 defeats (to Inter, Torino and Napoli) and 1 draw in their last 4 Serie A games. At the same time, Atalanta have climbed back up the table to 8th place with 23 points. Inter Milan are still leaders with 38 points.

Lookman at the double against AC Milan 🇳🇬 pic.twitter.com/2cegbEgyjy

— LiveScore (@livescore) December 9, 2023

Omar Marmoush puts in an outstanding performance against Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich took a beating against Frankfurt (5-1) on Matchday 14 of La Liga. The Egyptian was fundamental to this rare performance. He got his team off to the perfect start in the 12th minute. He also demonstrated his excellent passing skills with 2 assists to his team-mates. The 24-year-old took his tally of goals to 7 and assists to 3.Victory over Bayern moved Frankfurt up to 7th place in the table with 21 points, 14 behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen (35 pts). Bayern Munich are runners-up with 32 pts.

The 24-year-old has turned a corner this season and become a different footballer. He has gained in confidence and experience. The result: he's playing his best soccer since the start of his career. In 14 games alone, the player has just surpassed his goal total since arriving in Germany. He scored 5 goals last year with Wolfsburg. In other seasons, he hardly played at all.

Omar Marmoush is a very good player. What I like most about him is that he's very diligent, listens to instructions well, pays attention to everything that's said and approaches matches with the utmost concentration. The goals Marmoush is scoring right now are just a reward for the hard work he puts in."

"Because of his speed, he always causes problems for defenders and goes deep. Marmoush always wants to get into the penalty area again and again and help us with his style of soccer."

This weekend, other Africans could have laid claim to the African MWP, notably Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Algerian Mohamed Amoura, both of whom scored twice away from home against Lorient and Charleroi respectively. However, the calibre of the teams against which Lookman and Marmoush shone, namely Milan and Bayern, made the difference in the final decision.