Victor Osimhen missed another penalty as Napoli defeated Juventus in Serie A, and his Nigerian compatriot Tolu Arokodare was subjected to racist abuse after missing a spot-kick for Belgian Pro League heavyweights Racing Genk.

Elsewhere, Yoane Wissa scored a wondergoal to secure a point for Brentford against Nicolas Jackson's Chelsea, while Thomas Partey made his long-awaited Arsenal comeback, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang once again inspired Jean Louis Gasset's Marseille to a big victory.

This was a tough weekend for Nigerians taking penalties, with Osimhen missing the chance to put Napoli 2-1 up against Juventus in the 88th minute of their Serie A showdown.

The Super Eagles striker's penalty was saved by Wojciech Szczęsny, although it ultimately mattered little, as Giacomo Raspadori responded quickest to the rebound to give the Partenopei a second consecutive victory.

Napoli remain 29 points behind runaway league leaders Internazionale, while Osimhen may be reflecting on his less-than-stellar recent record from the penalty spot.

He has missed two of his past four penalties -- six in his career -- and no player in Serie A has missed more in all competitions than Osimhen (four) during the past two campaigns.

His uncertainty from the spot was previously mocked by Napoli, when the club published a social media video poking fun at the star striker after he fired wide against Bologna in September.

Osimhem, who scored once at the recent Africa Cup of Nations, asked centre-back William Troost-Ekong to replace him as the Super Eagles' penalty taker during the tournament; ex-Napoli head coach Luciano Spalletti previously defended the striker's technique, but it clearly remains an area of improvement for the 25-year-old.

Uncapped Arokodare also missed a penalty during the high-profile showdown between Genk and Club Brugge.

The opportunity came in the 18th minute after Morocco international Bilal El Khannouss had picked up the ball, when Arokodare stepped up, only to send a poor effort beyond the right post.

Genk, at that point, were in the ascendancy, but Brugge, perhaps boosted by the Nigerian's carelessness, cruised to a 3-0 victory, with Arokodare himself struggling to overcome his early setback.

The forward's miss led to a barrage of abuse aimed at the attacker on social media -- some of a racist nature -- and Genk issued a statement vowing to identify the perpetrators and report them to authorities.

"Tolu received a slew of racist comments on social media after the Club Brugge game," the club website announced. "Genk and everyone involved in the club condemns 100-percent this reaction.

"Racism has no place in soccer stadiums, on social media, anywhere, but unfortunately racism is still deeply rooted in soccer and -- by extension -- in society as a whole.

"It's a shared responsibility to put a stop to this, and as a club we'll do everything in our power to track down those responsible and report them to the police."

Ademola Lookman scored his first goal since the Super Eagles' AFCON quarterfinal victory over Angola by opening the scoring in Atalanta's 2-1 home loss to Bologna. Joshua Zirkzee, who remains eligible for Nigeria, equalised from the spot for the visitors -- showing Osimhen and Arokodare how it's done!

Africa's goal of the weekend surely came in West London, where Brentford battled back from a goal down to lead Chelsea 2-1 before drawing 2-2 after Axel Disasi's late equaliser.

Wissa's magnificent strike, to give the Bees a 69th-minute lead, was the highlight of the encounter as he followed his goal against West Ham United to scored in back-to-back games for the first time since his opening two games of the season.

The Congo DR forward leapt to meet the ball as Frank Onyeka's stretching attempt sent it looping towards him; taking a moment to set himself, Wissa then propelled himself to send an emphatic bicycle kick beyond Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

Brentford had earlier fallen behind when Jackson opened the scoring, meeting Malo Gusto 's cross to head home with the conviction of a player who hadn't already missed a series of decent chances.

The misses continue, but Jackson's strike made it two goals in two matches -- including against Leeds United in the FA Cup on Wednesday; it's the first time he's scored in consecutive matches since mid-November.

Despite the setback, and amid boos from the home support, Brentford rallied, with Wissa revealing that the improved second-half display was the consequence of a rallying cry from the players.

"It came from the players," he told the club's official website. "A lot of us started talking at half-time and it was what we wanted: Some personality.

"The skipper [Christian Nørgaard], Ivan [Toney], Neal [Maupay], me; we all spoke, saying to step it up. This is what Brentford is."

If the Bees can rediscover their mojo, and if Wissa can continue to make contributions, the West Londoners can feel quietly confident of pulling away from the dropzone.

Also in the Premier League, Ghana's Antoine Semenyo scored Bournemouth 's second goal -- his fifth of the season -- in their 2-0 victory at Burnley, while his compatriot Partey made his long-awaited return to action in Arsenal 's 6-0 demolition of Sheffield United.

Introduced as a 65th-minute substitute with the points well and truly secured, Partey was making only his fifth league appearance of the season, and his first outing since Ghana's 4-0 international friendly defeat by the United States on Oct. 18.

The 30-year-old has been struggling with muscular injuries -- costing him the chance to compete at the Nations Cup -- but he now has the opportunity to play a role in the Gunners' title run-in.

"Thomas is available now to play a certain number of minutes," Mikel Arteta said in his post-match press conference. "He needs to build on that, because [these were] his first minutes after four months, which is a long time.

"Like everybody, you need to have the right to earn the minutes."

Youssef En-Nesyri and Serhou Guirassy each scored a brace to help Sevilla and VfB Stuttgart to respective victories over Real Sociedad and Wolfsburg, and both appear primed for a strong conclusion to the season.

The same can be said for Aubameyang, who seems to be firmly in a purple patch for Marseille after performing in fits and starts earlier in the campaign.

Auba netted in OM's 5-1 thumping of Clermont Foot on Saturday, putting the visitors ahead just before the hour mark after Bilal Boutobba had cancelled out Iliman Ndiaye 's opener. The match was notable also for a second OM goal for Faris Moumbagna after his transfer from Bodo/Glimt earlier this year.

Auba's goal was the 34-year-old's fifth in five matches in all competitions, and he has been the outstanding performer since ex-Ivory Coast coach Jean-Louis Gasset was handed the reins after parting ways with the AFCON hosts midway through the tournament.

The Frenchman's appointment was unlikely, and the remarkable turnaround he's overseen with Marseille was similarly unforeseen; the Phoceens have won 3-1, 4-1 and 5-1 in their past three matches, and Gasset's experience in Provence seems to be helping him get over his Nations Cup heartbreak.

"It was difficult," Gasset said of his AFCON exit.

"I felt a feeling of incompleteness. Of course, I'm very pleased that the Côte d'Ivoire won the African Cup of Nations, but it's true that finding such an exciting challenge over a three-month period has helped me to overcome what happened.

"I felt a deep humiliation [after the 4-0 defeat by Equatorial Guinea], and I expressed to the FA President that it was impossible to accept such a situation."

Source:
courtesy of ESPN

by Ed Dove, Special to ESPN

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