African footballers were at their scintillating best over the weekend, dominating headlines, scoring bangers, and leading their clubs to famous victories. From Nicolas Pepe to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Dango Ouattara, we bring you all the action across Europe in this second weekly football recap episode of the new season.
PEPE STARS AS VILLARREAL THRASH GIRONA

Villarreal CF continued their impressive start to the new La Liga season with a 5-0 thrashing of Girona at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
Nicolas Pepe got Villarreal to a perfect start, netting the opener in the 7th minute. The Ivorian winger latched on to a poorly controlled pass by the Girona defender and raced through on goal before powering a low effort beyond the goalkeeper for his first goal of the season. Pepe has started the season in sparkling form and is back to his scintillating best!
Ahora me ves, ahora no. De locos el nivelazo de Nicolas Pepe. 🤯#VillarrealGirona | #LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/fIqxRvOqXc
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) August 24, 2025
Tajon Buchanan doubled the hosts’ lead in the 16th minute with a stunning effort, and Rafa Marin extended their lead further in the 25th minute. Buchanan added a fourth in the 28th minute as the hosts took a comfortable four-nil lead into the break.
Cameroonian sensation Etta Eyong followed his heroics in the season’s opening match, setting Buchanan up for Villarreal’s fifth goal in the 64th minute. Following a quick counterattack, Eyong threaded a pass to Buchanan, and the latter did justice to it to complete his treble. The Yellow Submarines have now recorded eight consecutive league victories in La Liga. They sit atop the La Liga table with six points from two games.
OUATTARA’S DEBUT GOAL LEADS BRENTFORD TO VICTORY AGAINST ASTON VILLA

Dango Ouattara justified the club-record transfer fee Brentford paid for him by leading them to victory over Aston Villa in their first home game of the 2025/2026 season at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Burkinabe winger was instantly included in the starting XI and scored his maiden goal for The Bees in the 12th minute. Caoimhin Kelleher’s long ball was flicked to his path, and controlling it, he skipped past Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres before trying to poke the ball beyond Emi Martínez, but the Argentine goalie denied his initial effort. Undeterred, Ouattara reacted quickly to the rebound and fired the ball into an empty net. Debut game, debut goal! Ouattara is the first Burkinabe player to play and score for Brentford. Brentford thought they had doubled the lead in the 43rd minute, but Mikkel Damsgaard’s goal was ruled out for a foul in the buildup.
Dangoal 💫
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) August 23, 2025
The match-winner on debut 🫡 pic.twitter.com/7AK13Pe4XT
Ouattara was substituted to a warm reception from the Brentford fans in the 84th minute. Despite upping the tempo of their performance in the second half and their barrage of attacks, they could not find a way past the Brentford defence. Ouattara’s lone goal was the difference between the two sides at the full-time whistle. Brentford have never lost their first home top-flight match, winning seven and drawing two, and they extended their unbeaten run.
NDIAYE MAKES HISTORY AGAIN

Everton welcomed Brighton FC to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for their first Premier League game at their club’s new 53,000-capacity stadium in Liverpool. Iliman Ndiaye, who previously netted the club’s last goal at Goodison Park in May, snagged up another slice of history as he became the first player to net a goal at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, leading the Toffees to a comfortable 2-0 win.
Ndiaye opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, striking decisively after Brighton failed to capitalise on their goalscoring chances early on. The opening goal resulted from a classic counterattack as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall sent Jack Grealish racing down the left flank. The Englishman skipped past Mats Wieffer before teasing a pass across the face of the goal into the path of Ndiaye, side-footed into the net. History maker! He can’t help himself, repeatedly etching his name into Everton folklore.
"Iliman Ndiaye is the man!" 🇸🇳#EVEBHA highlights are out now! ⬇️
— Everton (@Everton) August 24, 2025
The Evertonians took the lead into the break. Everton doubled their lead in the 52nd minute thanks to a thunderbolt from James Garner. Bright was offered a lifeline in the 75th minute as Yankuba Minteh won a penalty for The Seagulls; However, Danny Welbeck failed to convert from 12 yards, which was denied expertly by Jordan Pickford. Ndiaye’s overall performance was exceptional, underlining why Everton were unwilling to part ways with him this summer. Everton continued their strong start to the season with two consecutive victories.
NEW SEASON, SAME OLD GUIRASSY

Borussia Dortmund stumbled to a thrilling draw against FC St. Pauli in their opening Bundesliga game of the season away at the Millerntor-Stadion.
Guinean Hitman Serhou Guirassy continued his stellar goalscoring form from the previous season, opening the scoring for Dortmund in the 34th minute. Guirassy rose highest to bury Marcel Sabitzer’s inch-perfect delivery into the net with an emphatic header. New season, same old Guirassy.
Dortmund were awarded a penalty, and Guirassy should have doubled the lead in the 39th minute but was denied by a brilliant save from the goalkeeper. The visitors took a slender lead into the break. St. Pauli came out firing on all cylinders after the restart and grabbed an equaliser through Andréas Hountondji in the 50th minute. The on-loan Beninese international connected expertly with Daniel Sinani’s cross and flicked a pinpoint header into the back of the net to stun the Black and Yellow. Game on! Hountondji netted his maiden goal on his maiden appearance for St. Pauli.
Dortmund restored their lead through Waldemar Anton in the 67th minute, and Julian Brandt provided a safe cushion with his 74th-minute goal, but failed to walk away with the three points.
Two late goals by Sinani and Eric Smith denied Dortmund the win, their quest bolstered by a red card to Dortmund’s defender Filippo Mané in the 85th minute. An entertaining thriller that saw both sides claim an equal share of the spoils.
AUBAMEYANG RETURNS WITH A BANG

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang marked his return to the Stade Vélodrome with a superb performance, netting two goals and winning a penalty as Marseille decimated Paris FC in their first home game of the season. This match was the first clash between both sides in 43 years, and both sides needed the three points to banish the ghosts of their calamitous opening Matchday defeats.
Marseille got off to a flying start as they were awarded a penalty after Aubameyang was brought down in the 18-yard box on the stroke of the quarter-hour mark. Mason Greenwood duly dispatched the spotkick. Greenwood returned Auba’s favour and set him up for his second home debut goal in the 24th minute. Auba flicked the ball into the net acrobatically from Greenwood’s cross, sending the Marseille fans into raptures of glee and excitement. The goal marked his 300th goal contribution in Europe’s top five leagues: 237 goals and 63 assists in an illustrious career.
𝑷𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆-𝑬𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆 ! ⚡💥
— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) August 25, 2025
Entre 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲́ et 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲, l’international 🇬🇦 a enflammé l'Orange Vélodrome par 2️⃣ fois ce samedi lors d'#OMPFC 🔥#SublimeCôtedIvoire ✨ pic.twitter.com/tWPFhjGfpn
Ilan Kebbal pulled a goal back for Paris FC in the 28th minute to halve the deficit. The hosts took a deserved lead into the break. Paris FC were unwilling to let Marseille walk away with the three points, and they drew level through Moses Simon in the 58th minute. Kebbal teased a defence-splitting pass into Moses’ path and, timing his run to perfection, he discharged the ball into the net beyond Marseille’s goalie. The game was end-to-end as the Nigerian winger netted his first goal for his new club.
The visitors’ resistance was shattered by Marseille in the 73rd minute as Auba netted his second goal of the match. Moroccan youth international Bilal Nadir caught a Paris player in possession and flicked the ball to Auba, who curled it first time into the net beyond the helpless goalie. New league, same deadly finisher.
63rd-minute substitute Nadir notched his second assist in the 81st minute, teeing up Pierre-Emile Højbjerg for Marseille’s fourth. Following a well-worked team move, Nadir laid the ball back to Højbjerg and the latter rifled it into the back of the net from range. Greenwood missed a second penalty in the 85th minute but redeemed himself by setting up Robinio Vaz in the game’s closing minutes. Marseille returned to winning ways with a resounding performance.
WOOH SEES RED AS AIYEGUN AND SOUMANO NET IN ROUT

Ligue 1 newcomers FC Lorient welcomed Stade Rennes to the Stade du Moustoir, fully intent on clinching their first win in their first home game in the French top-flight since gaining promotion.
Things got off to a bad start for Rennes as midfielder Mahdi Camara was shown a straight red card in the 6th minute. It went from bad to worse for the visitors as Cameroonian defender Christopher Wooh received his marching orders in the 11th minute, after bringing down Tosin Aiyegun on the edge of Rennes’ 18-yard box. A catastrophic start to the game as they were reduced to nine men in five minutes. Despite their numerical advantage, Lorient failed to find the breakthrough till they broke Rennes’ resistance in the closing minutes of the first half.
Senegalese striker Sambou Soumano is no stranger to scoring goals in Ligue 1, and he netted the opener in the 4th minute of added time. Cameroonian midfielder Arthur Avom regained possession and released a pass to Soumano. The latter danced his way through Rennes’ defence, leaving multiple players mesmerised by his trickery before launching the ball into the net.
The floodgates were opened after the restart, and they doubled their lead through Tosin Aiyegun in the 47th minute following a routine set-piece coordination. Burkina Faso defender Arsène Kouassi teased a cross from a corner into Aiyegun at the far post, and the Benin striker turned the ball into the net on the half volley. The Nigerian-born Benin international wheeled away to pay homage to his deceased friend, Razak Omotoyosi.
With a comfortable 2-0 lead and superiority in numbers, Lorient’s head coach, Olivier Pantaloni, made a string of substitutions, and Soumano was withdrawn for Mohamed Bamba in the 56th minute. Bamba combined with fellow substitute Pablo Pagis in the 65th minute to extend their lead, unselfishly laying the ball to Pagis for Lorient’s fourth. Théo Le Bris added a fourth in the 69th minute as they clinched a famous victory over Rennes.