Nigerian teenager Zadok Yohanna made his English Premier League bow on Sunday as Brighton & Hove Albion launched their 2026/27 season with a convincing 4-0 win over Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium.
Quick facts
- Yohanna, 19, entered in the 78th minute of Brighton’s victory.
- Ademola Lookman made his second straight La Liga start for Atletico Madrid.
- Akor Adams completed his Serie A debut for Venezia.
- Trabzonspor defeated Istanbul Basaksehir 2-1 in Turkey.
Brighton’s new Nigerian winger replaced Mats Wieffer with 12 minutes of normal time remaining, by which point the hosts had established firm control. Villa had been playing a man down since João Gomes received a red card in the 40th minute.
The substitute appearance marked another major step in Yohanna’s rapid development. A little more than 12 months earlier, the 19-year-old was still featuring in academy football in Nigeria.
Brighton recruited Yohanna from Swedish side AIK Stockholm on a deal lasting until June 2031. He started at Ikon Allah Football Academy, moved to Sweden in 2025 and scored five times across 18 AIK appearances before earning his transfer to England.
The Seagulls had rejected pre-season reports suggesting that Yohanna would be sent out on loan immediately. Instead, Fabian Hürzeler included him in the senior squad and allocated him the No. 36 shirt for the season.
In Spain, Super Eagles attacker Ademola Lookman started for Atletico Madrid for the second consecutive La Liga match as Diego Simeone’s team drew 2-2 with Villarreal at home.
Lookman lined up alongside Lee Kang-in in attack, having also featured from the start in Atletico’s 2-0 opening-round win against Malaga. The Madrid side finished the match with 10 players after Robin Le Normand was dismissed in the 76th minute.
Italy brought a difficult first Serie A outing for Akor Adams, who played the full match for Venezia in a 2-0 home loss to Lecce at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo. The promoted club saw two efforts disallowed before Lecce scored twice after the interval.
Adams completed a permanent move from Sevilla to Venezia in July and signed terms through June 2030. During his Sevilla spell, the Nigerian forward produced 10 goals and four assists in 37 appearances.
Kevin Akpoguma remained on the Frosinone bench throughout their opening Serie A fixture, a 1-0 home defeat by Juventus. Gleison Bremer scored the only goal.
In Turkey, Paul Onuachu and Chibuike Nwaiwu both started as Trabzonspor secured their first league victory of the campaign, beating Istanbul Basaksehir 2-1.
Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah struck twice on his first Turkish Super Lig start to deliver the points. He had begun the previous weekend’s competition with a substitute appearance in Trabzonspor’s 1-1 draw against Kasimpasa.
Onuachu was unable to add to the scoring, beginning the season after ending the previous campaign with 22 league goals and a share of the Super Lig Golden Boot.
