Alex Iwobi was Everton‘s hero as they avoided defeat at Leicester City to boost their survival bid while keeping the Foxes mired in the English Premier League relegation battle.

In France, Toulouse‘s Logan Costa was the unlikely star as Le TeFeCe won the French Cup for the first time by mauling Nantes 5-1, while Cameroon‘s Darline Yongwa made a name for himself with his first Ligue 11 goal in Lorient ‘s 3-1 giant-killing of Paris Saint-Germain.

Wins are few and far between for Everton these days, with the early optimism that followed Sean Dyche’s arrival having firmly faded, so it was imperative they didn’t lose against Leicester City in Monday’s relegation dogfight.

Defeat seemed to be forthcoming after the Foxes’ first-half comeback, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s early opener was cancelled out by goals from Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy before Leicester were awarded a penalty.

Jordan Pickford saved from James Maddison, keeping Everton alive, before Iwobi levelled affairs nine minutes into the second-half.

The Nigeria international was culpable in the build-up to Vardy’s goal, carelessly giving away possession with a cross-field pass that was readily pounced upon by the Leicester midfielders.

But he made amends with an emphatic equaliser, shooting beyond Daniel Iversen after Wout Faes‘ attempted clearance dropped into his path.

Everton remain in 19th on the Premier League ladder, one point off safety with four games to play, and they’ll surely need more critical interventions from Iwobi if they are to stave off relegation.

This was the eighth Premier League goal he’s been involved in this campaign — double the entirety of 2021-22 — and the improvement he enjoyed under Frank Lampard continues under Dyche.

Iwobi’s best return for goal contributions in a single Premier League season came for Arsenal in 2018-19, when he had a hand in nine goals, and Everton sorely need him to surpass that return across the final weeks of the campaign.

Beyond his goal — his first since October — Iwobi was influential as the Toffees took the game to their fellow strugglers and registered 23 shots, the most they’ve managed in a Premier League game since Nov. 2019.

Iwobi clearly relishes the intelligence and presence of the returning Calvert-Lewin, and he is benefiting from being played in a more advanced role; he created three goal-scoring opportunities — no player on the pitch generated more chances — while also attempting more shots than any other player on the pitch.

His three completed dribbles was also an Everton high — eclipsed only by Leicester’s Maddison — and as Richarlison proved the Merseysiders’ saviour last term so Iwobi may emerge as the beleaguered side’s hero during the final four gameweeks.

Mali‘s Abdoulaye Doucoure, who is enjoying a renaissance of his own under Dyche, was influential defensively and nearly secured maximum points with a late drive from range, while Idrissa Gueye and Wilfred Ndidi sparred in the heart of the park.

Also in the Premier League, Crystal Palace‘s African stars impressed again as the Eagles saw off West Ham United 4-3 in a thrilling London derby.

Jordan Ayew, enjoying a new lease of life under Roy Hodgson, scored to tally his 50th goal involvement in the Premier League (33 goals, 17 assists), and his 30th for Palace.

However, he was eclipsed by Michael Olise, whose bubbling creativity underpinned this fresh, free-flowing Eagles side.

Olise set up Ayew’s opener to take his tally of assists for the campaign to nine — behind only Kevin De Bruyne, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard; that tally is the most assists by a Palace player in Premier League history.

In France, two of Africa’s less-heralded stars enjoyed an unforgettable weekend.

At the Stade de France, Toulouse capped their first French Cup final appearance by lifting the trophy — the most significant honour in the club’s 53-year history.

As well as an unlikely scoreline, there was also an unlikely scorer in the form of Cape Verde international defender Costa.

The centre-back has struggled for game time with Le TeFeCe this season, making just one league start all campaign, and he has relied on Toulouse’s cup run for minutes.

Selected ahead of first-choice Anthony Rouault, he marked Saturday’s showpiece with a remarkable double to put Toulouse 2-0 up inside the first 10 minutes.

The game was only four minutes old when Costa leaped highest to meet a Branco van den Boomen corner and head Toulouse into the lead; he demonstrated his threat at set pieces again minutes later, when he headed home as Stijn Spierings deflected the ball in his direction.

It was the quickest brace in the history of the final, and Costa could have had a hat-trick before the hour mark but he sent a header over the bar after again meeting a delightful Van den Boomen delivery.

Toulouse became the first team since Lille in 1955 to score four times in the first half of the French Cup final, but there was still time for Zakaria Aboukhlal — one of the heroes of Morocco‘s World Cup run — to lash home a fifth.

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In Ligue 1, Lorient’s shock victory at PSG sent shockwaves through the division even if the capital club remain five points clear atop the table with five matches to play.

PSG appeared to have banished the malaise of recent months with a three-game winning streak, but familiar failings reappeared as they succumbed to their sixth league defeat of the season — more than third-placed Lens.

Kylian Mbappe cancelled out Enzo Le Fee‘s opener, but Yongwa put Lorient back in front in the 39th minute. The defender reacted quickest to convert Romain Faivre‘s cross to restore Lorient’s advantage, netting his first Ligue 1 goal in some fashion.

Yongwa had been involved earlier, as Achraf Hakimi received a 20th-minute red card for a late challenge as the 22-year-old Cameroonian attempted to carry the ball out of defence. Lorient duly made their man advantage count, with Africa Cup of Nations winner Bamba Dieng heading home a close-range third goal after his initial effort had been saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

“We came determined, and each one of us was at his best level,” Yongwa said after the match.

“Collectively, we played a super match, and we’ve been looking for a real statement game since the second half of the season and there you go, we achieved it against a real heavyweight.

“I’ve multiplied my own efforts and it’s paid off.

“The coach told me that I was free to play my own match and manage my opposite number, and I’m happy, because unlike the first part of the season, I’m getting more playing time.”

Cameroon head coach Rigobert Song was questioned when he called up Yongwa for his debut in September; the left-sider didn’t make the Indomitable Lions’ World Cup squad, but more performances such as this could see him return to the international set-up.

Sourced from Man United