The Japan Times - African players in Europe: Ghana trio among the goals

Semenyo gave Bournemouth the lead in a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa and Kudus put West Ham United ahead in a 1-1 stalemate with Crystal Palace.

Williams, and younger brother Nico, were among the goals as Athletic Bilbao trounced Rayo Vallecano 4-0 to lie fifth.

Here, AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

ANTOINE SEMENYO (Bournemouth)

Semenyo scored Bournemouth's opener in their draw against Villa. The 23-year-old confidently picked out the bottom corner from 12 yards in the 10th minute following a Ryan Christie pass for his third league goal of the season. But the team were denied a third straight win by Ollie Watkins' late strike for Villa.

MOHAMMED KUDUS (West Ham Utd)

Kudus, 23, scored his third league goal of the season, starting and finishing the move as West Ham took the lead against Palace in the 13th minute at the London Stadium but Odsonne Edouard equalised and they shared the points.

SPAIN

INAKI WILLIAMS (Athletic Bilbao)

He notched his seventh goal of the season in La Liga and his third in four games as the Basque outfit romped to a comfortable victory over Vallecano. Williams came close to scoring just after half-time, sending a low effort narrowly wide, but went one better soon after. The 29-year-old tucked home neatly at the back post after Gorka Guruzeta swept a low ball across the area.

UMAR SADIQ (Real Sociedad)

Nigeria striker Sadiq followed up his first goal of the season last weekend with another strike to earn Real Sociedad a point in a 1-1 draw at Osasuna. It was another spectacular strike, with Sadiq turning well in midfield, driving forward and then unleashing a rocket across goal and into the top corner. After 11 league matches this season without scoring, the 26-year-old now has two goals in two games.

GERMANY

VICTOR BONIFACE (Bayer Leverkusen)

Leverkusen striker Boniface scored late to snatch his side a point in a 1-1 home draw with Borussia Dortmund which saw them go three points clear atop the Bundesliga table. With Leverkusen staring down a first loss in all competitions this season, Boniface was in the perfect position to tap in a clever Patrik Schick pass with 11 minutes remaining. "I was happy to score in a game like this... to get a point after we conceded so early. But it's not about me, it's about the team," said the Nigerian.

SERHOU GUIRASSY (VfB Stuttgart)

Making his first start since mid-October after overcoming a hamstring injury, Guirassy converted a late penalty to seal Stuttgart's 2-0 win over Werder Bremen. With Stuttgart leading from an early Deniz Undav goal, Guirassy went to ground after contact with Niklas Stark. The Guinea international has scored 17 goals in 12 games this season.

M.Yamazaki--JT