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Iwobi shines despite Ronaldo landmark, Moffi matches Mbappe

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Dawson: People wrong to doubt Cristiano Ronaldo (1:23)

Rob Dawson talks about Cristiano Ronaldo after the Manchester United striker scores his 700th career club goal. (1:23)

Cristiano Ronaldo's landmark 700th goal, as Manchester United defeated Everton on Sunday, couldn't entirely take the focus away from another superb Alex Iwobi display for the Toffees.

He wasn't the only Nigerian star to excel this weekend, with the likes of Cyriel Dessers, Calvin Bassey, Ademola Lookman, and Terem Moffi all starring for their sides.

It was Youssouf Moukoko and not Sadio Mane who made his mark in the Klassiker, becoming the youngest scorer in the history's fixture, while Nicolas Pepe also continued his resurgence since arriving at OGC Nice from Arsenal.

Toffees' Iwobi a sticky customer for United defenders

Iwobi's Everton may have fallen 2-1 to United at Goodison Park, despite taking an early lead, but the Nigeria striker's display was yet another major performance in his road to relevance on Merseyside.

In contrast to the 26-year-old's first two and a half seasons with the Toffees, he's stepping into an ever-more crucial role for the club as Frank Lampard's reign continues apace.

"It's clear to say that only players and players themselves can make the strides Alex has made," Lampard told journalists ahead of United's visit, "but not many make the strides he has made in the right way.

"My job is to support him, give him confidence, put him in the right structure, in the right team and the rest is down to him," he added. "I have a huge respect for him and love working with him."

This was an early highlight of another commanding display, with Iwobi creating two further goalscoring chances after giving the hosts the lead, and also taking 65 touches - bettered only by James Tarkowski - as he found himself at the heart of Everton's play.

It helps, of course, that Lampard has significantly upgraded Everton's engine room with the signing of Amadou Onana and the return of Idrissa Gana Gueye, both of whom can give the People's Club the kind of foothold in a ferocious Prem contest to allow Iwobi to excel.

The midfielder was unfortunate that it was his misplaced pass -- poorly controlled by Gueye -- that ultimately allowed United in for Antony's equaliser, although that shouldn't detract from Iwobi's increasingly influential role in this Everton team.

Super Eagles soar in Europe's leagues

Iwobi wasn't the only outstanding Nigerian performer across Europe's major leagues this weekend, with FC Lorient's Terem Moffi extending a particularly potent start to the season.

The Super Eagles striker netted twice for Les Merlus as they won 2-1 at Brest on Sunday, taking his tally to the season up to eight goals in 10 matches so far.

He's the highest scoring African player in any of Europe's five major leagues this season, and his Ligue 1 haul so far takes him to the top of the division's scoring charts, level with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

Moffi has enjoyed purple patches before, memorably enjoying a sensational spell in his debut season in France, and his focus now must be on maintaining such deadly form.

His latest contribution takes Lorient up to second after 10 matches, only one point behind Paris Saint-Germain, and defying pre-season expectations.

Cyriel Dessers, a summer arrival at Cremonese, hasn't enjoyed the same kind of lightning start to the season as his would-be Super Eagles rival Moffi, going eight matches without netting since arriving in Serie A.

Like Moffi, Dessers' career has been stop-start to date, with lethal goalscoring runs - notably at NAC Breda and Heracles - followed up by extended droughts in front of goal.

His early performances in Serie A suggested he might be entering into another barren patch, although his goal against Napoli on Sunday -- equalising in the 47th minute -- offers hope that he's finally getting a grasp of life in Italian football.

Newly promoted Cremonese couldn't keep Napoli at bay, with the title hopefuls eventually running out 4-1 winners, even without Victor Osimhen, who remains sidelined.

Ademola Lookman, another attacking option for the Super Eagles, and another new arrival in the Italian game, continued his encouraging start to life at Atalanta with his second league goal, while Emmanuel Dennis also netted for Nottingham Forest in their draw with Aston Villa on Monday to cap off a prolific weekend for Nigeria's goal-getters.

Unlike Dessers, Moffi, Dennis and Lookman, Calvin Bassey's season won't primarily be evaluated on his output in the final third.

He scored his first Ajax goal in their 4-2 victory at FC Volendam, responding to some local critics who haven't been impressed by his start to life in the Netherlands.

"When [Bassey] gets the ball, there is no danger to an opponent," ex-Ajax midfielder Marciano Vink said earlier in the week. "He has to improve quickly.

"From the first moment I watched Bassey on his debut, I was shocked at how bad his passing was," he added. "At Ajax, something more is demanded, especially if you want to play the passing game."

Bassey may have silenced the critics this weekend, but Ajax will once again be tested severely when they meet Napoli in the Champions League this week.

Over in Germany, the weekend was dominated by Der Klassiker -- the season's biggest fixture between domestic giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

It was a first taste of the iconic fixture for Sadio Mane, although while the Senegal superstar fluffed his lines, it was another African forward who dazzled.

Mane ended his own mini goal drought in the rout of Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, and was presented with an open goal in the 49th minute but could only head the ball wide.

Moukoko then sparked a late comeback for Dortmund -- at this point two goals down -- when he beat Manuel Neuer in the 74th minute, before Sebastien Haller's replacement Anthony Modeste rescued a point in stoppage time.

The wonderkid, who only turns 18 next month, remains eligible for Cameroon, although he may well have his eye on a late push into Germany's World Cup squad.

Finally to France, where Nicolas Pepe will hope to have taken another step in his own personal career revival with Nice's winner in their 3-2 triumph over ESTAC Troyes.

The Ivorian wideman had a hand in 33 goals for LOSC Lille during his final season in Ligue 1, and now returns to the top flight after wholly failing to come close to matching that return during an underwhelming spell at Arsenal.

Still only 27, his incredible 2018-19 season in the French top tier ensures that there's still lingering hope that current Nice boss Lucien Favre can rediscover that player once more.

Perhaps Sunday's showing was a crucial first step, with Pepe following up on his midweek continental winner over Slovacko by securing all three points for the hosts when he darted into the area before finishing calmly from close range. He's now scored in consecutive matches for the first time since May 2021.

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