Osimhen, other Nigerian scoring streaks as Iheanacho’s run ends

Politics Spice Special Features Education Sex & Relationship Interview Columns Opinion Advertise with us Osimhen, other Nigerian scoring streaks as Iheanacho’s run ends Sports November 1, 2026 12:08 am Victor Osimhen. Photo: X/@GalatasaraySK

Kelechi Iheanacho’s record scoring run in Turkey ended on Saturday, but he is not the only Nigerian forward to have found the net game after game for his club, PETER AKINBO writes

Iheanacho’s run of scoring in every game since he joined Bursaspor as a free agent from Celtic ended on Saturday, when the club beat Bandırmaspor 3-0 at home in the Turkish 1. Lig. Closely marked by the visitors’ defenders, he failed to score for the first time this season. Halil Akbunar and a brace from Lewis Baker made sure of the win.

He had scored in 12 consecutive league games, the first player in Turkish football history to do so, and ended the run with 16 goals and three assists. His goal against Muğlaspor on October 15 was his 10th in a row and broke the record held jointly by Galatasaray legends Metin Oktay and Saffet Sancaklı. He then scored against Pendikspor on October 19 and Keçiörengücü on October 25 to reach 12.

The 30-year-old went off with a minor knock against Keçiörengücü but was fit again after two days of rest. Bursaspor have now won four games in a row and finished the week top of the table. He remains on the radar of Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle for next month’s AFCON qualifiers against Tanzania, with the squad expected soon. Kelechi Iheanacho

Onuachu scored in 10 consecutive matches for Trabzonspor in 2026, a run that began on January 21 after he returned from the Africa Cup of Nations. He scored 12 goals in the 10 games, including the winner against Çaykur Rizespor.

That goal took him to 21 league goals in 23 Süper Lig matches, and he had been leading the scoring charts for weeks and ended that season with the top scorer award. Paul Onuachu

Victor Osimhen (Napoli, Galatasaray) – eight games

Osimhen has produced two eight-game runs. At Napoli, he scored in eight consecutive Serie A games in the 2022/23 season, netting 10 goals. He became the first player to do so since Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus in 2019/20. The run ended against Lazio, and Napoli went on to win their first Scudetto in 33 years, and Osimhen claimed the Capocannoniere award.

At Galatasaray, he scored in eight consecutive European matches in 2025, becoming the first player in the club’s history to do so. His hat-trick in a 3-0 Champions League win at Ajax made it eight.

The 27-year-old is in form again. He has scored in his last three matches, including both goals in the derby win over Fenerbahce and the opener in Friday’s 4-0 win at Konyaspor, less than 24 hours after the birth of his second child.

Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest) – seven games

Awoniyi scored in seven consecutive Premier League matches, a run that began at the end of the 2022/23 season and ran into August 2023. He scored six goals in Forest’s last four games that season, including the winner against Arsenal that kept the club in the top flight. He then carried the form into the new campaign, scoring against Sheffield United and Manchester United.

The run made him the first Forest player to score in seven successive Premier League games. It also made him the first Nigerian to do so and only the third African, after Mohamed Salah and Emmanuel Adebayor. Taiwo Awoniyi

Ighalo scored in six successive Premier League games for Watford in December 2015, the first player in the club’s history to do so in the top flight. He passed the club mark of four held by Troy Deeney, which had been set earlier that month. His run included a brace in the 3-0 win over Liverpool and goals against Chelsea and Tottenham.

His form that month earned him the Premier League Player of The Month award for December.

Simeon Nwankwo, known as Simy, scored in five consecutive Serie A games for Crotone in the spring of 2021, with seven goals in the run. He scored against Atalanta, Torino, Lazio, Bologna and Napoli. He became only the third African to do so in Serie A, after George Weah in 1996 and Keita Baldé in 2017.

He was also the first player to score in five straight games for a newly promoted side since Paulo Dybala at Palermo in 2014/15. He finished the season with 20 league goals in 38 games, although Crotone were relegated.

Moffi scored in five consecutive Ligue 1 games in his debut season at Lorient, a run between December 2020 and February 2021. The last of those goals was a late winner against Paris Saint-Germain. He finished the season with 14 league goals.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni had a four-game scoring run for Portsmouth late in the 2003/04 Premier League season. He also scored four times in the 5-1 win over Middlesbrough on the final day.

Peter Odemwingie scored in four straight Premier League games for West Bromwich Albion in April 2011, a spell that earned him the Premier League Player of The Month award.

Obafemi Martins scored in four straight games twice for Seattle Sounders in 2014, in a season in which he set a club record of 17 league goals.

Peter, who has been covering sports for PUNCH for close to two years, focuses on combat sports reporting, special features and human angle stories

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