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Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Paul Onuachu star in Nigerian goal fiesta

The weekend included an outstanding goalscoring showcase from some of Nigeria's biggest stars, with Victor Osimhen and Kelechi Iheanacho both netting, while Franck Kessie and Achraf Hakimi each made a big contribution in wins for AC Milan and Internazionale.

Nigeria may have struggled to break down Benin away in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in March, but it seems as though no other African team can boast the firepower of the Super Eagles right now.

On Sunday alone, four of the national side's prominent attacking players were all among the goals in some of Europe's biggest leagues, which is testament to the quality of offensive options available to Gernot Rohr right now.

Most in need of a big performance, perhaps, was Osimhen, who scored one goal and was influential in another as Napoli defeated Sampdoria 2-0 to boost their UEFA Champions League aspirations.

The 22-year-old, restored to the starting line-up after being benched for the midweek defeat by Juventus, had a point to prove, and he duly responded to his previous omission with arguably his best performance since arriving in Italy.

His goal -- a fine right-footed finish after bursting in behind the defence three minutes from full-time after fine work from Dries Mertens -- was his third in his past four appearances (and his past three starts) for club and country.

The attacker finally appears to be finding the measure of consistency in front of goal that has previously eluded him since signing for Napoli.

"We are seeing the real Osimhen," ex-Internazionale midfielder and youth coach Benoit Cauet said on the Radio Kiss Kiss show in the aftermath of the triumph.

"He had to settle in as once he arrived in Italy, [but] now he is starting to show what he was also doing at Lille."

Earlier in the weekend, Simy Nwankwo continued his sublime goalscoring form in Serie A, with his latest effort for Crotone as they continue to battle in vain against relegation.

The towering frontman put the Sharks ahead in the 78th minute away at Spezia -- his 16th league goal of the season, and his ninth goal in his past six games -- but he was helpless as the visitors threw away their advantage and slipped to a 3-2 defeat.

Crotone, with only four wins all season and 12 points from safety, are fast running out of time to pull off a miraculous great escape.

Atop the Serie A table, there were wins again for league leaders Internazionale and their nearest rivals, AC Milan.

For the former, Hakimi was introduced in the 69th minute with the Nerazzurri struggling to break down a dogged Cagliari side; eight minutes later they had made a decisive intervention, when Matteo Darmian turned home the Moroccan's cross.

The 1-0 win keeps Inter 11 points clear of Milan -- and on course for the title -- despite Kessie's 10th goal of the season in a 3-1 victory at Parma.

The Ivorian has comfortably eclipsed his previous career best of seven goals, although the fixture will be even more memorable for his compatriot Chaka Traore, who made his league debut for Parma.

Traore -- introduced as an 85th-minute sub for the hosts -- became the first player born in 2004 to play in the Italian top flight, and -- at 16 years, three months and 18 days -- the 11th youngest player in the league's history.

Over in England, Iheanacho maintained his superb goalscoring form but was unable to prevent Leicester City from enduring another wobble in their season.

The Foxes were 3-0 down having been completely undone by West Ham United before Iheanacho launched his one-man survival mission with 20 minutes to play.

He first capitalised on an error from Congo 's Arthur Masuaku before slamming home a 20-yard drive, and then tucked in a Marc Albrighton cross to further reduce the arrears in second-half stoppage-time.

The striker now has 11 goals in his past 11 matches in all competitions for the Foxes, and has equalled his previous Premier League best -- eight goals scored with Manchester City in 2015/16.

However, his heroics were unable to prevent Leicester from slumping to a second consecutive defeat; the East Midlanders are now only two points clear of Chelsea in the race for UEFA Champions League football, and one ahead of the Hammers, with seven games to play.

Also concerning for Brendan Rodgers will be the performance of Wilfred Ndidi in the Foxes' midfield, with West Ham duo Tomas Soucek and Mark Noble consistently winning the battles in the heart of the park and dictating the shape of the contest.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Mohamed Salah was influential as Liverpool came from behind to defeat Aston Villa 2-1 -- avoiding a seventh consecutive home league defeat at Anfield in the process.

Salah headed beyond Emiliano Martinez from close range just before the hour-mark, after the Villa keeper could only parry Andy Robertson 's effort towards towards the Egypt superstar, to claim his 19th league goal of the season.

Despite the Reds' well documented turmoil this season, Salah is only three strikes behind the 22-goal tally that was enough to earn him the Golden Boot in the 2018-19 season; not bad for a player in the midst of one of the most agonising campaigns of his career.

Also among the goals on Sunday were Paul Onuachu and Joe Aribo, who endured mixed fortunes with Nigeria during the international break.

Onuachu was lauded for netting Nigeria's late winner against Benin, but Aribo's place in the Super Eagles' midfield has come under scrutiny after a disjointed showing against the Squirrels.

Both found the net on Sunday, however, with Onuachu adding Racing Genk's final goal in their 4-0 victory over Sint-Truiden in the Belgian Jupiler League, and Aribo opened the scoring for Rangers with a 20th-minute volley in their 2-1 victory over Hibernian.

As well as extending Genk's unbeaten run to seven matches -- as they remain on course for the Belgian title -- Onuachu's effort was his 27th in the Belgian top flight this season.

While Onuachu is currently the leading scorer in a single season in Belgium since Luigi Pieroni in 2003-04, he remains some way off the league record of 41 goals established by Arthur Ceuleers and Jules Van Craen in the years preceding World War II.

Aribo's effort was his seventh goal for the Gers during their title-winning campaign, and his first since February.

"It was a long time coming," he told Rangers TV after the match.

"I want to keep scoring goals every single game I play, so I'm happy for myself that I could get the opening goal for the team.

"It was a nice finish."

Last week, Patson Daka was Africa's outstanding performer in the Austrian Bundesliga, but Karim Adeyemi stole the show for FC Salzburg this time around.

The ex-Bayern Munich player, still uncapped by Nigeria but eligible for the Super Eagles via his father, scored twice as Rapid Vienna were defeated 3-0 in the Austrian playoffs, despite entering the contest only as a 74th-minute substitute.

Andre Silva opened the scoring for the domestic heavyweights in the first half before Adeyemi stepped off the bench to bag his third and fourth goals of the campaign.

Daka bagged the Austrian Bundesliga's quickest hat-trick in history with an eight-minute triple against Sturm Graz last weekend, but he was not as effective this time around -- although he did force Maximilian Hofmann into a foul that led to the 27-year-old's dismissal.

Across the rest of Europe's major leagues, Wahbi Khazri bagged the first hat-trick of his career as Saint-Etienne defeated Bordeaux 4-1, Phillip Mwene conceded a penalty in Mainz's victory over FC Koln, and Real Betis's Aissa Mandi hefty challenge on Joao Felix in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid left the Portuguese star sidelined with an ankle injury.