Diafra Sakho scored his fifth goal in as many matches to help West Ham defeat fellow Londoners QPR 2-0 in the English Premier League at the weekend.
An August signing from French outfit Metz, the 24-year-old Senegalese striker is already looking like one of the best buys of the season.
A productive weekend for Senegal stars saw Papiss Cisse bag a brace for Newcastle in a draw at Swansea while a Mohamed Diame goal helped Hull defeat Crystal Palace.
ENGLAND
YAYA TOURE (Manchester City)
“Class is permanent, form is temporary”, the Ivory Coast midfielder could have been forgiven for saying after answering his critics by capping a fine all-round performance with a goal from the edge of the box that broke the deadlock in the Premier League champions’ eventual 2-0 victory at Aston Villa.
DIAFRA SAKHO (West Ham)
Sakho is already looking like one of the buys of the season after scoring again in West Ham’s 2-0 win at home to Queens Park Rangers. The Senegal striker didn’t have much to do in terms of nodding in James Tomkins’s hooked-back ball in the 59th minute at Upton Park but, significantly, the forward was in the right place at the right time.
PAPISS CISSE (Newcastle)
Not for the first time this season, the Senegal striker came to the aid of beleaguered Newcastle manager Alan Pardew. His double saw the Magpies twice come from behind in a 2-2 draw away to Swansea, the forward marking his first start since returning from a fractured kneecap by taking his tally for the season to four goals in three games. His initial equaliser came in the 43rd minute when he turned French winger Gabriel Obertan’s cross past Swansea keeper Lukasz Fabianski from close range before he got on the end of substitute Sammy Ameobi’s centre 15 minutes from time.
WILFRIED BONY (Swansea)
The Ivory Coast forward started and finished the move that led to Swansea’s 17th-minute opener in south Wales and his first league goal of the season. He laid the ball off to Gylfi Sigurdsson before surging into space and taking the return pass from the Icelandic midfielder before slipping a simple side-foot finish past Tim Krul.
MOHAMED DIAME (Hull)
Well on his way to becoming a fans’ favourite at the KC Stadium, the France-born Senegal midfielder — who only joined the Tigers from West Ham last month — opened the scoring in a 2-0 win at home to Crystal Palace when he rose high above three defenders to head in Andrew Robertson’s deflected cross from the left.
SPAIN
STEPHANE MBIA (Sevilla)
Cameroon midfielder and captain Mbia continued his fine scoring form this season with two goals as Sevilla moved up to third with a 4-1 win over Deportivo la Coruna. Mbia headed in the opener before making the three points safe as he slotted home Sevilla’s third goal after half-time.
YOUSSEF EL-ARABI (Granada)
Morocco striker El-Arabi opened his account for the season inside the first minute of Granada’s Andalusian derby against Malaga. However, that goal proved worthless as Malaga came from behind to win 2-1.
PATRICK EKENG EKENG (Cordoba), BABA DIAWARA (Getafe)
Cameroonian Ekeng Ekeng had Cordoba on course for their first win since returning to the Spanish top flight with a stunning strike 12 minutes from time to put them in front at Getafe. However, Senegalese striker Diawara came off the bench to rescue a point for the home side with a neat finish from close range.
ITALY
GERVINHO (ROMA)
Gervinho was one of the star performers for Roma in a bad-tempered and controversial 3-2 defeat to Juventus which saw the Giallorossi’s unbeaten run come to an end and Juve move three points clear at the top of Serie A. The Ivorian striker’s pace was electric, but a sublime pass that set up the Argentine Juan Iturbe for Roma’s second goal in the 44th minute was the highlight of Gervinho’s night.
SULLEY MUNTARI (AC MILAN)
Muntari has had a topsy-turvy season so far but made amends by scoring the opener for Milan in a precious 2-0 win over Chievo, which ultimately left the Rossoneri fifth in the table, seven points behind leaders Juventus. A cross from Keisuke Honda was headed out into the path of Muntari and the Ghanaian international’s mis-hit shot bounced up and over Francesco Bardi into the net.
KHOUMA BABACAR (FIORENTINA)
A week after scoring a late equaliser for Fiorentina in a 1-1 draw at Torino, Babacar grabbed his second goal of the Serie A season by opening the scoring for the Florence-based side in a 3-0 win over Inter Milan. Babacar, 21, almost earned an early penalty when manhandled by defender Nemanja Vidic, but made amends with a vicious drive from distance that left Samir Handanovic with no chance in the seventh minute.
FRANCE
PAUL-GEORGES NTEP (Rennes)
A double from Cameroonian striker Ntep helped Rennes end a series of three consecutive home defeats with a precious 2-0 victory over Lens. Ntep opened his account in the 54th minute with a superb strike that left Rudy Riou with no chance in the Lens goal and the 22-year-old from Douala added a second with six minutes to go as the Brittany side edged away from the drop zone.
ALAIXYS ROMAO (Marseille), YRONDU MUSAVU-KING (Caen)
Togo international Romao sent a glancing header that deflected in off the unfortunate Caen ‘keeper Remy Vercoutre with 15 minutes left to give Marseille the initiative in Normandy. But the lead only held up briefly when Gabon defender Musavu-King grabbed the equaliser for Caen as he towered above the Marseille back four and planted a header past the static Steve Mandanda. A dramatic 93rd-minute winner by Andre-Pierre Gignac resulted in a 2-1 victory for leaders Marseille.
CHEICK DOUKOURE (Metz)
An unfortunate own goal from Ivory Coast midfielder Doukoure allowed hosts Evian take the lead in a 3-0 victory than halted Metz’s three-match winning streak and saw them drop to ninth.
GERMANY
JOEL MATIP (Schalke 04)
The Cameroon defender had an afternoon to forget after being sent off for a second yellow card in Schalke’s 2-1 defeat at Hoffenheim. Matip was given his marching orders after he followed up his 70th-minute booking with another yellow card five minutes later for a reckless tackle.
SALOMON KALOU (Hertha Berlin)
The Ivory Coast striker continued his good start in Germany’s capital with two goals for Hertha in their 3-2 win over VfB Stuttgart, converting two of his four shots on goal. The former Chelsea forward converted a first-half penalty then put Hertha 2-1 up midway through the second half at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.