It was a tale of different strokes for different Nigerian players at the weekend, as Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi led the way in performances and game time for the country’s top stars, while Leon Aderemi Balogun was benched for the ninth straight match by Brighton Hove Albion.
While Balogun’s woes continued away to Cardiff City, as he watched proceedings from the bench for 90 minutes of his side’s 1-0 loss, Ndidi was on top of his game in a home fixture at King Power Stadium.
Though the emotional match, which was used to mourn The Foxes’ late chairman, eventually ended goalless with Burnley, Ndidi did come close to scoring.
The former Racing Genk of Belgium defender-turned-midfielder tried from range in the 58th minute but it was comfortable for the Clarets goalie Joe Hart, before seeing his effort from close range blocked five minutes later.
As the game moved towards the hour mark, Ndidi’s Nigerian pal, Kelechi Iheanacho was sent on to partner Jamie Vardy in attack, but got a yellow card in the 76th minute.
At the end of it all, statistics showed that Ndidi had once again been outstanding, with all figures giving him the edge above many others.
Stats showed that Ndidi was the player with the most impressive individual performance in his 12th successive start in the English topflight.
Ndidi got close to breaking the deadlock on at least three occasions, as he headed over the bar in the last move of the first half, his shot from distance was saved by Joe Hart in the 58th and he saw his close range effort blocked five minutes later.
The 21-year-old Ndidi topped the player ratings, with 7.97 out of 10 to place, ahead of Burnley duo Matthew Lowton and Charlie Taylor, who got 7.58 and 7.48 respectively.
He had a total of five shots with two on target, made two key passes, won ten aerial duels, was the top interceptor with three and made two tackles over the course of ninety minutes.
On the other hand, it was a nightmare ending for Balogun’s Brighton fell 1-0 to Cardiff City, as The Bluebirds secured all three points courtesy of Sol Bamba’s 90th minute winner.
