Femi Solaja with Agency report
Aftermath of his heroic for Club Brugge against former European champion Real Madrid, Super Eagles’ invitee for the friendly with Brazil, Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure has been nominated for the UEFA Champions League Player of the Match-day 2.
The Nigerian fired brace at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night to silent the roaring Madrid fans.
Bonaventure was nominated alongside Barcelona and Uruguay international Luiz Suarez who also netted brace against Inter Milan on Wednesday at Camp Nou.
Also in contention are Bayern Munich Serge Gnabry who scored four goals against Tottenham Hotspur and Moroccan international and Borussia Dortmund star Hakimi who shoot down Slavia Prague twice.
The winner is to be announced this weekend.
Meanwhile, Dennis has explained why he appeared to troll Real Madrid in the match by copying Cristiano’s Ronaldo trademark celebration at the Bernabeu.
The Nigerian star, re-enacted Ronaldo’s iconic ‘Siii’ celebration in front of the Real fans.
Dennis said it was his long-standing admiration for the Portuguese superstar that gave him the motivation to celebrate like his hero.
‘I’ve been a Cristiano fan forever and I was very upset when he left Madrid,’ Dennis commented after the game.
“So I decided that if I scored in the Bernabeu, that’s what I’d do.
“Everyone expected them to beat us easily. We prepared for them, we believed and we had a good feeling.”
Dennis and South Africa’s Percy Tau posed problems for the hosts’ defence all through the game, and the Nigerian star admitted Brugge targeted the Real backline as part of their tactics.
“We train a lot, we train hard and we came here to make Ramos and Varane run,” Dennis added.
“They are defenders – defenders don’t like to run!
“Most teams come here and play in a block, but we broke from the block and worked like mad.”
