Guirassy leads African standouts from Champions League matchday three

Serhou Guirassy’s decisive double for Dortmund and Yan Diomande’s impressive cameo for Real Madrid were among the strongest performances by African players during the third matchday of the 2026/27 Champions League league phase.

Several African representatives played key roles in a week that featured major fixtures and plenty of goals. Here are the five most notable displays.

1. Serhou Guirassy

Serhou Guirassy scored both of Dortmund’s goals in their 2-1 win in Baku on Tuesday, ending a run of three matches without victory.

The Guinea international opened the scoring in the 10th minute after the goalkeeper had parried Felix Nmecha’s effort. Aden McCarthy levelled for the hosts in the 39th minute, but Guirassy restored Dortmund’s advantage eight minutes after half-time by meeting Joey Veerman’s cross at the far post.

A counter-attack involving McCarthy then denied him the chance to complete a hat-trick. Guirassy has scored four goals in this season’s Champions League, while Dortmund have six points and sit 13th.

2. Yan Diomande

Yan Diomande made an immediate impact after coming on against his former club in Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory over Leipzig at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Introduced in the 70th minute, the Cote d’Ivoire international supplied the pass for Kylian Mbappe to make it 3-0 in the 83rd minute. After Tidiam Gomis pulled one back two minutes later, Diomande volleyed in Brahim Diaz’s pass to restore Real Madrid’s three-goal lead in the 87th minute.

He needed only one shot during his 20 minutes on the pitch. Real Madrid have won all three of their matches, giving them nine points and fourth place.

3. Soriba Diaoune

Soriba Diaoune marked his first Champions League start by scoring twice in Lille’s 4-2 defeat by Galatasaray on Wednesday.

The Franco-Guinean forward equalised in the seventh minute, five minutes after Akgun had opened the scoring, before putting Lille ahead with his second goal in the 39th minute.

At 19 years and 68 days, Diaoune became the youngest Lille player to score in the competition. Galatasaray levelled in the 44th minute and pulled away after the interval. Lille have lost all three matches and remain second-bottom without a point.

4. Achraf Hakimi

Achraf Hakimi completed PSG’s 4-2 win over Barcelona at Parc des Princes on Tuesday.

The Morocco international, deployed on the right, broke forward in the 86th minute before delivering a cross to the far post for Fabian Ruiz to score PSG’s fourth goal. Earlier, one of Hakimi’s efforts had been cleared off the line by Pedri.

The assist was his 19th in the Champions League, putting him level with Mohamed Salah and one behind Samuel Eto’o’s African record. PSG remain top of the league phase with nine points.

5. Ademola Lookman

Ademola Lookman helped Atletico earn a 1-1 draw away to Stuttgart after replacing Jonathan David at half-time on Tuesday.

Jamie Leweling put Stuttgart ahead in the 36th minute, but the visitors equalised a minute after the interval. Played in on the left by Grimaldo, the Nigeria international sent a low cross into the area, allowing Julian Alvarez to finish with his first touch.

Atletico then held on after Hjulmand was sent off in the 64th minute. Lookman, who had already scored against Manchester United, has one goal and one assist in this season’s Champions League. Atletico have four points and are 16th.