Dessers, Aribo and 18 others recognised for top performances in April

Nigerian players around the world had another month to strut their stuff at various levels of the beautiful game and the result is the April edition of the power ranking.

Here are the 20 best Nigerian performers outside of the country over the 30-day span of April 2022.

Osimhen and Okoye among the best in March

Osimhen, Simon among top performers in February

Nigeria Power Ranking: Top billing for Simon, Ozornwafor in January

The lanky Nigerian striker only managed a goal and an assist for Almeria in April but he put up solid performances in all five games and helped the team avoid defeat.

20-year old Raphael Onyedika has been a mainstay in the Midtjylland midfield throughout the season and he has helped the team win four out of five games in the Danish Superligaen Championship round, notching an assist in that period.

Peter Olayinka has ascended into a captaincy role at Slavia Prague in recent times and started last month with a goal in a 3-3 draw against Feyenoord.

The 26-year old scored two goals in six games in April to help Slavia Prague finish top of the Czech Republic first division regular season.

22-year old winger Henry Offia has been killing it for Trelleborgs in the Swedish second division with two important goals in five games last month. His goals earned Trelleborgs two draws against Ostersund and Brage.

Anthony Nwakaeme is having a great season with 12 goals and 11 assists so far but April was not a great month for him from a personal standpoint as he only recorded one assist in the four games he played for Trabzonspor.

He makes it on this list because Trabzonspor secured the Turkish Super Lig title last month and Nwakaeme was a big part of it.

Paul Onuachu started the month off with a hat-trick against Eupen but failed to score in any of the three subsequent games for Genk.

Terem Moffi scored for Lorient in a 5-1 thumping at the hands of PSG and then scored a brace in a 6-2 win over Saint Etienne to wrap up his involvement for the month.

Buyuksehir Belediye Erzurumspor center forward Aaron Olanare has been in good form in the Turkish second division with four goals and an assist in four games in April including a hat-trick against Balikesirspor.

32-year old striker Odion Ighalo continued his superb run of form in Saudi Arabi with three goals for Al Hilal Riyadh, two in the Asian Champions League and one goal in the Saudi King’s Cup.

The highlight of Chukwueze’s month was that winning goal against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena to send Villarreal to an unprecedented UEFA Champions League semi final.

He also assisted a goal in the 1-1 draw away at Athletic Club and scored in a 2-1 loss to Alaves in La Liga.

Leicester City winger Ademola Lookman scored two Premier League goals in April, one in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace and another in a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. He also played a pivotal role in Leicester’s goal against Roma in the UEFA Europa Conference.

25-year old left-back, Chima Okoroji played five games last month for Sandhausen in the German second division and notched a hat-trick of assists in a 4-2 win against Nuremberg. Those were his only goal involvements in the month but he did help the team to two wins, two draws and a defeat.

Zaidu Sanusi played all six games last month for Porto notching one assist in a 3-0 win against Santa Clara, helping the team to five wins and one defeat.

Napoli’s title aspirations were ultimately ended last month but Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen notched a goal and assists each in two games against Fiorentina and Sassuolo to rack up four goal contributions in four games in April.

Joe Aribo had an eventful month, helping Rangers to qualify for the Europa League final with two assists against Braga in the quarter-final second leg.

He also scored a stunning goal in the league to seal a 4-0 win over St Mirren and has since been tested out in new positions, often playing as a striker.

The forgotten man of Nigerian football, Isaac Success shot himself back to mainstream attention with his performances in April for Udinese.

Success scored once and assisted four goals in six Serie A games to mark a sensational return from injury for the 26-year old striker.

Nigerian winger Moses Simon had a solid end to April with three goals and an assist in the final two games of the month after failing to score or assist in the previous three for Nantes.

19-year old left wing-back Destiny Udogie took his breakout season a step higher in April with six top performances for Udinese which saw the youngster contribute two goals to help the club win four and draw one.

It’s not often that a player in the second division ranks this highly on these lists but Francis Ezeh has been so good for Tuzlaspor, that it’s almost impossible to overlook.

The 24-year old striker played four games in the Turkish second division last month and scored in every one of those games, ending the month with five goals and an assist.

The undisputed best Nigerian player in April 2022 was none other than Cyriel Dessers for his match-winning displays in the Europa Conference League.

Dessers scored four goals and assisted another to help Feyenoord seal passage to the final while also maintaining his spot as the competition’s top scorer.