Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru played a key role in Lazio’s 3-1 victory over Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday in the Europa League.
The Nigerian midfielder started the game for the Italian side and was instrumental in their positive play from the outset.
Lazio’s early dominance paid off in the 12th minute when Loum Tchaouna opened the scoring to give the visitors the lead.
Ajax, despite applying sustained pressure, failed to find an equaliser before half-time, leaving the Italian side in control as the teams went into the break.
The Dutch side, however, made a strong start to the second half, levelling the match in the 47th minute through Burkina Faso winger Bertrand Traoré.
Dele-Bashiru responded swiftly, restoring Lazio’s lead in the 52nd minute with a composed finish.
The Nigerian’s goal came just when Lazio needed to regain control of the match.
Tchaouna later turned provider, setting up Pedro, who sealed the win for the Italians and secured three valuable points on the road.
This marked Dele-Bashiru’s second goal of the Europa League campaign, following his strike against Dynamo Kyiv in September.
Dele-Bashiru’s stellar performance in numbers
The 23-year-old was on the pitch for the full 90 minutes, delivering an impressive all-around performance.
He scored one goal and successfully completed two of his three dribble attempts.
Dele-Bashiru had 47 touches during the game, distributed two key passes, and recorded an impressive 91% passing accuracy, completing 30 out of 33 attempted passes.
He also delivered one accurate long pass and registered one shot on target.
In duels, Dele-Bashiru showed his tenacity, winning two out of six ground duels and succeeding in the only aerial duel he contested.
