Super Eagles strikers Kelechi Iheanacho and Terem Moffi found the net on Wednesday night as Celtic and OGC Nice began their UEFA Europa League group-stage campaigns.
At the Marakana, Iheanacho continued his impressive start to life at Celtic, scoring in their 1-1 draw with Red Star Belgrade.
The Scottish champions earned a valuable point after a balanced contest that saw both sides share the spoils.
Introduced at halftime for Daizen Maeda, Iheanacho made an instant impact.
The Nigerian striker missed an early chance but quickly redeemed himself by controlling Benjamin Nygren’s clever pass before calmly slotting past goalkeeper Matheus.
Former West Ham and Stoke City striker Marko Arnautovic equalised for Red Star midway through the second half, capitalising on a scrappy goalmouth scramble.
Red Star had dominated much of the opening period, with Bruno Duarte twice going close, including one effort against the crossbar.
However, Celtic grew into the game after Iheanacho’s arrival, showing more attacking threat but ultimately settling for a hard-fought point in Belgrade.
Meanwhile in France, Moffi’s penalty was not enough to rescue OGC Nice, who fell 2-1 at home to AS Roma.
The Super Eagles forward came off the bench in the 62nd minute and converted from the spot fifteen minutes later.
His strike halved the deficit after Roma defenders Evan Ndicka and Gianluca Mancini had scored in quick succession early in the second half.
Despite a spirited late push from the hosts, Roma’s defensive resilience ensured they left the Allianz Riviera with all three points to start their campaign strongly.
Selected Europa League Results – Wednesday
Red Star Belgrade 1–1 Celtic
OGC Nice 1–2 AS Roma
Midtjyland 2-0 Sturm Graz
PAOK 0-0 Macabi Tell Aviv
Dynamo Zagreb 3-1 Fenerbahçe
Freiburg 2-1 Basel
Malmo FF 1-2 Ludogorets Razgrad
Real Betis 2-2 Nottingham Forest
SC Braga 1-0 Feyenoord
