Super Eagles defender Chibuike Nwaiwu scored his first goal for Trabzonspor this season. This happened during their 3-0 victory over Samsunspor in the Black Sea derby on Saturday.
Trabzonspor dominated the first half at the Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadium in the Turkish Süper Lig. They scored all three goals before halftime. Ernest Muçi kicked things off in the 28th minute with a shot from inside the box.
Ten minutes later, Nwaiwu increased the lead when Samsunspor’s goalkeeper Okan Kocuk could not hold onto Muçi's shot. Nwaiwu was right there to follow up and score. Franculino Djú, who netted for Guinea-Bissau in their 3-0 win over Nigeria on September 29, rounded off the scoring in the 40th minute.
Nwaiwu also avoided a suspension in this match. He had received yellow cards in three straight league games against Başakşehir, Amed SK, and Gençlerbirliği. Another booking against Samsunspor would have kept him out of the game against Beşiktaş on Monday, October 19.
He played 93 minutes and had a solid performance defensively. He made four tackles, four interceptions, and four clearances. He also won three out of four ground duels. Nwaiwu completed 85 percent of his passes and got a rating of 8.7.
The 23-year-old joined Trabzonspor from Austrian club Wolfsberger AC in January for €5.5 million. He helped Trabzonspor finish third in the Süper Lig, win the Turkish Cup, and qualify for the Europa League.
Nwaiwu received his first call-up to the Nigerian national team in March. He stepped in for the injured Calvin Bassey and made his debut as a substitute in the 2-1 win over Iran.
Last month, Nwaiwu was part of Nigeria's squads for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau. However, he did not come off the bench in either match.
Reports say that Fulham had two bids for him turned down during the summer.
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