Chelsea loanee Dario Essugo scored his first goal for Strasbourg in Sunday’s 2-1 away defeat to Nice.
Essugo scored the opener in the south of France with a fantastic strike from 25 yards, but Nice turned the game around with a 2-1 Ligue 1 win. The 21-year-old midfielder, who was allowed to leave the Blues on a season-long loan deal in the summer, made a fine start to his first league goal and started with some fine minutes. in.
After the game, Get French Football News asked the Portuguese midfielder about the significance of his loan spell and the impact it would have on his long-term future with Chelsea, but his answer was by the book.
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“I want to play, but I don’t want to show [anything] Essugo, who signed for Chelsea from Sporting CP in the summer of 2025, told another: “I just want to focus on myself and help Strasbourg improve and win games.”
Strasbourg coach Hugo Oliveira put his faith in Essougo on Sunday and it paid off. Essugo spoke highly of his compatriot and the freedom he allowed him to play.
Essugo said: “He wants me to be myself. He wants me to play more as a number 8 and that’s good for me because I can get into the box more. It’s something new for me, but I can handle the ball more and help the team defensively.”
Elsewhere, fellow Chelsea loanees Filip Jorgensen and Genesis Antwi also featured for Strasbourg in the defeat at the Allianz Riviera, both completing the full 90 minutes.
In Spain, Mamadou Sarr starred for Real Sociedad in a 3-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna. It was the 21-year-old defender’s third league start of the season for La Real – but his first since September 13 – and he looked typically aggressive, while remaining solid in possession.
Benoit Badiashile made his first start for Napoli in their 3-0 win over Frosinone on Saturday. The Frenchman, who Napoli have an option to buy for £23m next summer, has been a bit of a fixture under Massimiliano Allegri so far, but could support Chelsea as they look to sell the defender for 90 minutes at the weekend.
Alejandro Garnacho was an unused substitute for Aston Villa – again – as Unai Emery’s side drew 2-2 at home to Brentford. The 22-year-old winger is yet to start a Premier League game for Villa. In fact, the Argentine has not featured in a senior game since his 15-minute cameo against Hull City on September 5.
There was hope that Garnacho had turned the corner for Villa when the former Manchester United winger scored in a friendly against Sevilla during the international break. Garnacho completed 90 minutes at Sevilla but was not called upon by Emery when it mattered this weekend.
Fellow Chelsea man Ryan Kavuma-McQueen surprised the crowd in Sunday afternoon’s Portsmouth derby defeat to Southampton. The 17-year-old winger looked lively in the first 45 minutes, but Pompey coach John Moussinho decided to take him off at half-time.
Mousinho explained his decision as follows:[It was] just tactical. Ryan did an excellent job for us.
“I thought there was a different opportunity at times, especially when space opened up for Segecic near the box.
“No problem, just one of those decisions. Ryan is a very, very exciting young talent.”
Also, in the Championship, Dastan Satpayev recovered from his injury and appeared in the game where they won against “Watford” with a score of 4:0. The 18-year-old forward, who came on for the last 20 minutes at Vicarage Road, made his first appearance since September 2 after picking up a muscle injury.