Auba shows his worth for Barca, Osimhen rescues Napoli

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally got back among the goals, after several miserable months, scoring a hat trick and making history on his first Spanish LaLiga start for Barcelona.

Elsewhere, Sadio Mane hit a memorable landmark of his own in the English Premier League on Saturday and Victor Osimhen salvaged a point for Napoli in the Italian Serie A on Monday.

It wasn’t that long ago that questions persisted about Aubameyang, and whether he was finished as an elite striker, given the Gabon forward’s form at Arsenal appeared to have fallen off a cliff; however, the 32-year-old proved in his first LaLiga start with Barcelona that he still has much to offer at the top level of the sport.

Aubameyang signed a new deal with the Gunners in 2020 — and was appointed captain under Mikel Arteta — but he subsequently failed to demonstrate the form that had inspired Arsenal to the FA Cup only months beforehand.

The three-year deal signed in Sept. 2020 represented a watershed moment in Auba’s Arsenal career.

He scored just 10 league goals in the 20-21 season — fewer than half his tally in each of the previous five seasons, both in London and with Borussia Dortmund — and produced long swathes of anonymous performances with the capital club.

The first half of this campaign, with increasing off-field discussion about his contribution, his numbers and performances dipped further.

By the time he played his last game for Arsenal — a brief cameo against Everton in November — he’d scored just four league goals in 14 league outings, and hadn’t found the net in his previous six outings.

Indeed, his hat trick against Valencia on Saturday represented the first time he’d scored since Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in late October, a figurative lifetime without a goal for a player who until relatively recently had been considered one of the most lethal frontmen in football.

Aubameyang’s stagnation at the Emirates Stadium changed perceptions of his standing in the game, with the striker breaking disciplinary rules, falling out with Arteta, being stripped of the captaincy, and promptly being deemed surplus to requirements.

The Africa Cup of Nations offered hope of an escape but his tournament was overshadowed by a positive coronavirus diagnosis and subsequent apparent health problems despite testing negative, and Aubameyang was sent home early without getting onto the pitch during Gabon’s run to the Round of 16.

Aubameyang has subsequently taken time to find his feet after arriving at Barcelona during the January transfer window, despite previously stating his love for Real Madrid, making half-hour cameos against Atletico Madrid and Espanyol — to little effect — before an 85-minute showing against Napoli in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

On Saturday, however, he started against Valencia in LaLiga and eviscerated Los Che with a sensational hat trick — his first since bagging three against West Bromwich Albion in the Carabao Cup in August.

He has a fine record against Jose Bordelas’s heavyweights, having netted four goals in two Europa League matches against them — including a hat trick at the Mestalla — in 2019.

In scoring three times, Aubameyang became the first player this century to have scored a hat-trick in Ligue 1, the German Bundesliga, the Premier League and LaLiga, following his stints with Saint-Etienne, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal. Indeed only three other players — Stevan Jovetic, James Rodriguez and Michy Batshuayi — have scored in each of these major leagues since the turn of the Millennium. And only once before — Francisco Trincao last year — has a Barca player scored two or more goals in his first LaLiga start this century.

“I feel very happy,” Aubameyang told BarcaTV after the victory. “I think it is due to the team because they welcomed me like I have been a player for a long time. I feel very good and very happy. I think that’s why I scored today.”

Speaking to Movistar+, the striker’s new teammate Sergio Busquets lauded the Central African’s arrival in Catalonia.

“He’s working really well, he came here needing minutes but he is getting them now,” the Spain midfielder began. “I hope he helps us like this because he is a great player and having him in the squad on a free transfer is a gift.”

Barca now turn their attention to Thursday’s return clash with Napoli in Italy, where they face the Italian Serie A title-chasers on the back of last week’s 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp.

“[The win vs. Valencia] gives us a lot of confidence and we’re ready to go,” Auba said. “I think we will win this game.”

To progress, Barcelona will need to find a way to silence Napoli frontman Osimhen, who will be raring to improve his patchy recent goalscoring form and send the Partenopei through to the next round.

The Nigeria striker bagged only his second goal in seven outings as he helped Napoli salvage a point away at Cagliari in the Serie A title race.

AC Milan and Internazionale dropped points over the weekend, but Napoli struggled to ignite in Sardinia as they sought to move to the top of the table.

In the end, they had Osimhen to thank for rescuing a point after the striker came off the bench to equalise with a powerful header three minutes from time.

Napoli also had goalkeeper David Ospina to thank, for a series of critical saves, but Luciano Spalletti’s side, who are unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions, are only two points off the top and firmly in the hunt for first Scudetto since 1990.

In the Premier League, a swathe of high-profile African performers made decisive contributions for their sides at the top and bottom of the division.

Mohamed Salah‘s performance in Liverpool‘s come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Norwich City generated most of the headlines, as the Egypt superstar appeared finally to put his AFCON disappointments behind him, but Mane was every bit as influential as the player he defeated in the continental final earlier this month.

Mane equalised for the Reds after the visitors had taken the shock lead, helping to turn the tide of the contest in the Merseysiders’ favour by flinging himself to meet a Kostas Tsimikas header before sending a sublime overhead kick beyond Angus Gunn in the 64th minute.

The strike takes Mane to 104 Premier League goals, equalling Didier Drogba’s longstanding mark for an African player that was surpassed by Salah earlier in the campaign.

That scoring record is testament to the Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament as he could surpass Salah as the continent’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League even though he’s spent much of his Anfield career in Salah’s shadow.

Salah’s goal — deliciously bringing the ball down from Alisson’s long punt forward, before rounding Gunn and finishing calmly — was arguably the goal of the round as he followed up his midweek strike against Internazionale in the UEFA Champions League.

The goal was his 150th for Liverpool, and only 1966 World Cup winner Roger Hunt has reached that landmark more quickly for the Anfield giants.

Elsewhere, Thomas Partey registered the match-winning assist for Bukayo Saka in Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Brentford, while Nigeria’s Emmanuel Dennis rediscovered his goalscoring touch with his first strike in 2022 proving decisive in Watford’s 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.

Riyad Mahrez ‘s penalty for Manchester City against Tottenham Hotspur didn’t result in points for league leaders, as they were defeated 3-2, but Hakim Ziyech followed up his fine performances in the Club World Cup with a late volleyed winner as Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 1-0.

“It was a difficult game without many chances, only a small number of chances,” Ziyech said.

“We had the disallowed goal but then it is the best feeling to score in the last minute.

“Of course it is hard but that is why you play football, to win trophies. That is what we are trying to do. We have won two already this season and still have four to go.”

Chelsea face Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday before the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday.