Wednesday Sep 18, 2019. 12:00
Uefa Champions League matchday 1 action resumes on Wednesday evening with several African stars involved across the European continent.
The group stages of the 2019/20 season officially kicked off on Tuesday, with Africa’s finest players taking no time in making an impact.
While the likes of Peter Olayinka, Kalidou Koulibaly, Andre Onana, Mbwana Samatta and Hakim Ziyech starred for their respective club sides on Tuesday evening, AfricanFootball.com takes a look at SIX players who could light up the UCL this evening:
Percy Tau
The South African forward, who is on-loan from English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, will make his Champions League debut this evening when Club Brugge host Turkish Super Lig champions Galatasaray. Arguably Bafana Bafana’s biggest star since Thulani Serero, Tau will be hoping to continue his good start to life in Belgium’s top-flight.
Mbaye Diagne
The Senegal striker, who is also on-loan at Club Brugge, will be desperate to prove a point against his contracted employers. Diagne, who scored an incredible 30 goals in 29 league appearances last season, joined the Belgium club on-loan from Galatasaray earlier this month and will now go head-to-head against the team he fired to Super Lig glory just a few months ago.
Sofiane Feghouli
Like Club Brugge, Galatasaray boast a healthy African contingent and in Feghouli they have an Africa Cup of Nations champion. The Algeria international enjoyed a superb 2018/19 season and will be hoping to take his form to new heights on his return to Champions League football.
Thomas Partey
The Atletico Madrid midfielder will have his work cut-out against a star-studded Juventus outfit in a repeat of last year’s Round of 16 clash. The Ghana international has firmly established himself of an integral member of the Spanish LaLiga club over the past season, duly placing him at the top of the shopping list of Atletico’s European rivals.
Idrissa Gana Gueye
The Senegal midfielder will make a return to Champions League football for the fist time since playing for Lille in the competition six years ago. Now donning the colours of the club’s French Ligue 1 rivals Paris Saint-Germain, Gueye established himself as a top midfielder on the European continent during his time at Everton.
Riyad Mahrez
Following Manchester City’s surprise loss away to Norwich City in the English Premier League this past weekend, there could be a return to the starting 11 for the Algeria captain. Mahrez is almost unplayable on his day, and could be key if the Sky Blues are to claim all three points in Ukraine.
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