Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji made an impressive UEFA Champions League debut, scoring and assisting in Sparta Prague’s 3-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday.
Olatunji extended Sparta Prague’s advantage in the 42nd minute, then assisted Qazim Laçi in the 58th for the team’s third goal. Olatunji’s spectacular debut places him among a small club of African players who have scored and assisted in their first Champions League match.
According to football metrics company Opta Joe, Olatunji is the third African player and the first Nigerian to score and assist in his UEFA Champions League debut, joining Daniel Cousin (Rangers vs Lyon, 2007) and Serge Aurier (PSG vs Shakhtar Donetsk, 2015) in this rare club.
To commemorate his goal, Olatunji raised his jersey to show an undershirt bearing the words, “I am a Chosen, who are you?”—a reference to a current viral trend that has sparked debate on social media.
The practice took off after videos of testimony shared by members of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries went popular.
The testimonials sparked extensive online discussion, with numerous social media users parodying them. However, the church’s leadership has denied accusations that the viral films capture the heart of their testimonials, claiming that some of them have been doctored and taken out of context to insult their religion.
They explained that the testimony happened in dreams and urged people to be wary of deceptive web content.
Written by Jennifer Amarachi
