David Okereke scored his fourth goal of the season, but it was not enough to prevent Cremonese from suffering a 2-1 loss at home to Inter Milan on Saturday. The Nigerian striker made an impressive move, cutting inside Hakan Calhanoglu and curling a stunning strike off the woodwork just 11 minutes into the match. However, a brace from the prolific Lautaro Martínez secured the win for the Nerazzurri against Serie A’s bottom side, marking Davide Ballardini’s first defeat since taking over at US Cremonese. Following his early goal, Okereke struggled to maintain his impact on the game, managing only one shot before being substituted in the 72nd minute. During his time on the pitch, he also conceded three fouls and lost possession 12 times. His compatriot, Cyriel Dessers, came on for Daniel Ciofani in the 60th minute of the match.
In another match, Tyronne Ebuehi made his seventh Serie A start of the season for Empoli, who played to a 2-2 draw with Torino on Saturday. This match marked Ebuehi’s 30th league appearance of the season, during which he has scored once. Additionally, Ola Aina made a brief appearance, replacing Mergim Vojvoda for the final five minutes of the game. This was Aina’s 11th appearance of the season and his first since October 23, 2022.
In the English Championship, Chuba Akpom scored his 14th goal of the Championship season, contributing to Middlesbrough’s 2-0 victory over fellow promotion-chasers Watford. This win allowed Middlesbrough to leapfrog Watford and move into third place in the Championship table. Under manager Michael Carrick, who took over in October when the team was in the relegation zone, Middlesbrough has achieved nine wins from 13 league games. On-loan Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer made his full debut in this match and played a significant role in setting up Akpom’s goal. The defeat leaves Watford in fourth place, just one point behind Middlesbrough, while the rest of the Championship’s top half did not play this weekend.
In the English FA Cup, Leslie Adekoya, a British player of Nigerian descent, scored his first senior goal for Accrington Stanley with a clever dink over Illan Meslier just 38 seconds after coming off the bench in his side’s 3-1 loss to Leeds United. At 18 years and 285 days old, Adekoya became the youngest player to score in this season’s FA Cup. Goals from Jack Harrison, Luis Sinisterra, and Junior Firpo secured a place in the fifth round for Leeds. This match marked Adekoya’s eighth appearance off the bench for the club this season. Meanwhile, Joe Aribo started for Southampton, who managed to overcome a fightback from Championship strugglers Blackpool to win 2-1 and advance to the FA Cup fifth round. Aribo played the entire match as a midfielder and had last featured for the Saints in their previous FA Cup game against Crystal Palace on January 7. Southampton’s progression to the fifth round marks their third time in four seasons, and they will learn their next opponent when the draw is made on Monday.
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