African players of the weekend: Hakimi’s historic hat-trick, Sinayoko and Guirassy shine (31 Oct – 1 Nov 2026)

The Halloween weekend was a big one for African players in Europe. Morocco's Achraf Hakimi produced a historic performance, and several African forwards found the net. Here are the standouts.

🇲🇦 Achraf Hakimi (PSG): first hat-trick of his career

PSG 5-1 Le Havre (Ligue 1)

This was THE performance of the weekend. The Moroccan full-back scored three goals and provided two assists, so he was involved in all five PSG goals. A hat-trick from a defender is very rare. Sportmonks gave him a perfect 10/10 rating.

🇲🇱 Lassine Sinayoko (Paris FC): Ligue 1's top scorer

Paris FC 3-1 Monaco (Ligue 1)

The Malian striker scored twice in the first half and was involved in the third goal. With 8 goals, he is now Ligue 1's top scorer, great news for Mali ahead of their AFCON 2027 qualifier against Rwanda.

🇲🇦 Gessime Yassine (Strasbourg): two goals and an assist

Strasbourg 5-1 Auxerre (Ligue 1)

The young Moroccan scored twice and added an assist in Strasbourg's big win.

🇨🇮 Elye Wahi (Nice): hat-trick against Rennes

Nice 5-2 Rennes (Ligue 1)

The Ivorian scored a hat-trick and added an assist, confirming his excellent start to the season.

🇸🇳 Mouhamed Diop (Troyes)

Troyes 2-0 Le Mans (Ligue 1)

The Senegalese midfielder scored and created two chances.

🇬🇳 Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund): on target in Der Klassiker

Bayern Munich 2-2 Dortmund (Bundesliga)

The Guinean equalised in the second half in Munich. It is his 8th goal of the season in all competitions.

🇸🇳 Nicolas Jackson (Aston Villa): unstoppable

Aston Villa 1-1 Fulham (Premier League)

The Senegalese striker scored again: 8 goals in 12 games and 5 Premier League goals in 5 matches.

🇨🇮 Yan Diomandé (Real Madrid)

Racing Santander 0-3 Real Madrid (La Liga)

The Ivorian scored shortly before half-time (37') to help Real to a comfortable win.

🇩🇿 Ibrahim Maza and 🇲🇦 Bilal El Khannouss: an African duel in the Bundesliga

Leverkusen 2-4 Stuttgart (Bundesliga)

Both scored in the same game. El Khannouss also provided an assist as Stuttgart won.

🇳🇬 Other African players to note

• Tunde Akinsola (Nigeria, Cercle Brugge): two goals in a 2-1 win over Antwerp.
• Taiwo Awoniyi (Nigeria, Coventry): first goal for Coventry in a 3-1 win over Sunderland.
• Evan Ndicka (Ivory Coast, Roma): scored in a 5-2 win over Udinese.
• Ramiz Zerrouki (Algeria, Twente): scored a penalty in a 9-0 win at Excelsior.
• M'Bala Nzola (Angola, Cagliari): scored despite a 2-1 defeat to Lazio.
• André Onana (Cameroon, Trabzonspor): six saves and his 6th clean sheet of the season (2-0 vs Gaziantep).

Ahead of the international break

These performances come at the right time: the AFCON 2027 qualifiers return from 9 to 17 November. Hakimi (Morocco), Sinayoko (Mali), Guirassy (Guinea) and Jackson (Senegal) arrive in top form. Check out the full schedule and our predictions on FootballAfrik.