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It was a bittersweet experience for Super Eagles duo Samuel Chukwueze and Raphael Onyedika, who featured prominently for AC Milan and Club Brugge, respectively, in a UEFA Champions League match at San Siro on Tuesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Onyedika was handed a starting role by Brugge’s manager Nicky Hayen, but the midfielder had an ill-fated outing as he was sent in for an early shower 40 minutes into the game after he was shown a straight red card by German referee Feliz Zwayer.
With just five minutes left in the first half at the San Siro, Onyedika, in a bid to chase down the ball, committed a reckless challenge on Tijjani Reijnders, leaving both players injured in the process.
After reviewing the situation and consulting with the Visual Assistant Referee, the German official showed the Nigerian a card for a dangerous foul, leaving the visitors to play the remaining 50 minutes of action with 10 men.
The Nigeria international has been a key player for Hayen’s side, particularly in the Champions League, scoring in one of his last two appearances.
His expulsion proved a significant blow to the Belgian side, who were a goal down before the incident but suffered a 3-1 defeat.
Despite being a man down, Brugge managed to draw level just six minutes into the second half but were punished by two quick goals with Chukwueze the provider of the second in the 71 minutes.
The former Villarreal player started from the bench and came on in the 60th minute for Portuguese Rafael Leão.
Just a few seconds after taking to the pitch, the Rossoneri regained their lead after Noah Okafor assisted Reijnders. Ten minutes later, Chukwueze assisted the Netherlands international for his second goal of the game and Milan’s third of the night.
It was Milan’s first win of the new Champions League group phase format, having lost their first two games to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen.
It was Onyedika’s second red card of the 2024-25 season, with the first occurring in Club Brugge’s 1-1 draw against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
