Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, beat Nigeria 3-2 in a friendly at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
Kelechi Nwakali opened scoring with a sublime effort, but the newly-crowned Europa League champions quickly levelled through Angel Correa.
Fernando Torres came off the bench to head in for 2-1, before Usman Mohammed equalized for the hosts with a brilliant solo effort.
Borja Garces netted the winner for the LaLiga side with five minutes left.
What three things did we learn?
1. Salisu Yusuf is doing a great job: Most Nigerian football enthusiasts were not keen on the match, as soon as it was confirmed that it was the ‘B’ team that would play. But they gave a good account of themselves against the Spanish side, playing with confidence, pace and purpose. And all this, after training together for only three days prior to the encounter.
2. Maybe Kelechi Nwakali should be going to the World Cup? Yes, we remember Bartholomew Ogbeche. But Nwakali brings creativity, which is not in abundance in the ‘A’ team and should have been given a look in. The midfielder, who is on loan from Arsenal, capped a fine performance with a well taken goal in the first half.
3. Atletico have a decent B team: Diego Simeone was forced to leave out some players from his squad, as they would be preparing for the 2018 World Cup with their various countries. However, he was still able to call upon Fernando Torres, Jan Oblak, Thomas Partey, etc. And they edged what was a thrilling game.
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