Victor Osimhen stands on the edge of another chapter in Nigerian football history as Galatasaray travel to Amsterdam to face Ajax in the UEFA Champions League tonight, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Super Eagles striker, already Galatasaray’s most lethal forward in Europe this season, could equal – and possibly surpass – Obafemi Martins’ record as Nigeria’s top scorer in European club competitions.
Victor Osimhen currently boasts 22 goals in UEFA tournaments, just one behind Martins’ tally of 23, which was spread across stints at Inter Milan, Newcastle United, Wolfsburg, Rubin Kazan, and Levante.
Should the 26-year-old score once tonight, he would draw level. Two goals, however, would take him clear as the most prolific Nigerian ever on the European stage.
Beyond goals, tonight’s fixture could also mark Osimhen’s 20th appearance in the Champions League, placing him just one shy of equalling the Nigerian record of 21, jointly held by Victor Ikpeba and Celestine Babayaro. Ikpeba achieved his during spells with Monaco and Borussia Dortmund, while Babayaro reached his milestone with Anderlecht and Chelsea.
Victor Osimhen, Super Eagles of Nigeria and Benin Republic at Godwill Akpabio Stadium. Photo by Nsidibe Akpan Copyright: xPicasax3.0xIMAGO
Osimhen already tops the Nigerian scoring chart in the Champions League with 12 goals, eclipsing Martins (10), Julius Aghahowa (7), Emmanuel Emenike (7), Ikpeba (7), and Yakubu Aiyegbeni (7).
The former Lille star struck the decisive winner that condemned Premier League champions Liverpool to a 1-0 defeat and earned Galatasaray’s first Champions League win of the season.
He also scored twice against Bodø/Glimt in Galatasaray’s last European outing, breaking two long-standing club records in the process.
His first goal was the earliest ever scored by Galatasaray in a Champions League match, while his second made him the first player in the club’s history to score in seven consecutive European games. That incredible scoring streak saw him surpass the 13-year record held by Burak Yılmaz.
Osimhen, 2023 African Player of the Year, can even aim to become just the second Nigerian after Yakubu Aiyegbeni to score a Champions League hat-trick.
Yakubu achieved the feat for Maccabi Haifa in a 3–0 win over Olympiacos in September 2002. Other Nigerians to have netted trebles in Europe include Jay-Jay Okocha, Moses Simon, Paul Onuachu, and Ademola Lookman, whose famous hat-trick powered Atalanta to the 2024 Europa League title against Bayer Leverkusen.
At Galatasaray, Osimhen has scored 43 times in 49 appearances with nine of them coming in European competitions. That tally places him in sixth place in the club’s all-time scoring record behind Milan Baros (12 goals), Shabani Nonda (12), Gheorghe Hagi and Mario Jardel (both on 11), and Harry Kewell (10).
