Yunusa Muritala edged fellow countryman Victor Olatunji in the battle of Nigerians when defending champions Sparta Prague and Sigma Olomouc met in the Czech First League, the Chance Liga, on Friday.
Muritala, 24, scored one goal, his first in the division, and provided another as 10-man Sigma stunned hosts Sparta 3-2 inside a rainy epet ARENA to win the matchday 10 opener.
Sigma vyloupila Letnou! 😱🤯 pic.twitter.com/UC7o7wh2es
— Chance Liga (@chanceliga) September 27, 2024
Olatunji scored first with his third league goal of the season as the home side drew first blood in the 12th minute, eight minutes after Lukas Haraslin’s opener for Sparta was ruled out for offside.
The rest of the first half was all Sparta but they failed to increase their advantage and this came back to bite them in the second half as Muritala drew Sigma level in the 67th minute.
𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚 𝙔𝙪𝙣𝙪𝙨𝙖❗
Premiérová trefa pro Yunusu Muritalu v lize za @SKSigmaOlomouc 🤩🎯 pic.twitter.com/IraP70kD8r— Chance Liga (@chanceliga) September 27, 2024
With Olatunji taken off in the 71st minute, the visitors completed their turnaround seven minutes later through Czech midfielder Jan Fiala, who silenced the roaring crowd after being teed up by Muritala, who looked in inspired form in the second half.
It soon became three to Sigma courtesy of a strike from Filip Zorvan, who benefitted off a mis-control from defender Jaroslav Zeleny, in the 86th minute, three minutes before they were reduced to 10-men after Jachym Sip was given his marching orders.
The numerical advantage provided the hosts with some lifeline but they were able to draw only back through Kosovan winger Ermal Krasniqi, who scored a 91st minute consolation goal.
The victory took Sigma into fourth in the standings with 17 points from nine games. Meanwhile for Sparta, who remain second with 22 points, it was their first home loss since May 2023, and their first-ever competitive defeat under new boss Lars Friis.
Sparta must quickly forget about the disappointing defeat as a busy week awaits them: first, they visit the MHPArena in Germany to take on VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday, before heading to Eden Arena for the Prague derby against Slavia. However, for Sigma, their plan will be to build on this famous victory as they take on Bzenec in the Czech Cup on Wednesday before hosting Bohemians 1905 at the Andruv Stadium next Sunday.
