{"id":843965,"date":"2025-04-27T13:12:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T18:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/27\/nigerias-top-marksmen-osimhen-leads-dessers-chases-as-rangers-title-hopes-fade\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T13:12:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T18:12:33","slug":"nigerias-top-marksmen-osimhen-leads-dessers-chases-as-rangers-title-hopes-fade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/27\/nigerias-top-marksmen-osimhen-leads-dessers-chases-as-rangers-title-hopes-fade\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria\u2019s top marksmen: Osimhen leads, Dessers chases as Rangers\u2019 title hopes fade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Nigerian forward <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/?s=Dessers\">Cyriel Dessers<\/a> continued his impressive scoring run by netting his 24th goal of the season, but it was not enough to earn Rangers victory as they were held to a 2-2 draw by St. Mirren at The SMISA Stadium on Saturday, <a href=\"https:\/\/Soccernet.ng\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Soccernet.ng<\/a> reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Already out of the Scottish Premiership title race following Celtic\u2019s emphatic 5-0 win over Dundee United, <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/?s=Rangers\">Rangers<\/a> nonetheless produced a spirited performance.<\/p>\n<p>Barry Ferguson\u2019s men took a deserved lead in the 42nd minute when Dessers finished clinically to keep his personal momentum going.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_155666\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-155666\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/imago1059577090-750x500.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Nigeria and Rangers star Cyriel Dessers.\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\"  ><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-155666\">Nigeria and Rangers star Cyriel Dessers. Photo by IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, the lead was short-lived. St. Mirren responded almost immediately, with Mark O\u2019Hara leveling two minutes later with a stunning volley to send the teams into the break tied at 1-1.<\/p>\n<p>Rangers, undeterred, came out strongly after half-time and regained the lead through Nikolas Raskin\u2019s 52nd-minute strike. But once again, defensive frailties cost them, as Conor McMenamin found the net for St. Mirren with 17 minutes left on the clock to secure a share of the spoils.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_152662\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-152662\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/GlYNDgGXQAA-GqW.jpeg\" alt=\"Soccer Nigeria Super Eagles and Rangers FC striker Cyriel Dessers. \" width=\"620\" height=\"680\"  ><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-152662\">Nigeria Super Eagles and Rangers FC striker Cyriel Dessers. Photo Credit X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Despite Rangers\u2019 late push for a winner, they could not find a way past the resilient hosts. The draw adds to the growing frustrations at Ibrox, with the Glasgow side\u2019s wait for a league title stretching into a fourth year.<\/p>\n<p>Attention now turns to the highly anticipated Old Firm derby on Sunday, May 4, where Rangers will look to salvage pride against newly crowned champions Celtic, who secured their fourth consecutive title in dominant fashion.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_157054\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-157054\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/imago1036533234-750x545-1.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Nigeria and Rangers stars Cyriel Dessers and Leon Balogun.\" width=\"750\" height=\"545\"  ><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-157054\">Nigeria and Rangers stars Cyriel Dessers and Leon Balogun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VagMHLcA89MZvw0Btc21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/h4>\n<p><strong>READ MORE\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/03\/nigerian-osimhen-super-eagles.html\">In-form Nigerian striker outscored only by Osimhen &#038; Dessers reacts to first Super Eagles call-up<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/04\/victor-osimhen-galatasaray-record.html\">Victor Osimhen nears 119-year Galatasaray record<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/04\/victor-osimhen-vs-nwakame-turkish-cup.html\">Confirmed: Victor Osimhen to battle another Super Eagles star in Turkish Cup final<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On a personal note, Dessers\u2019 goal further cements his status as one of <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/?s=Nigeria\">Nigeria\u2019s<\/a> most prolific forwards in Europe this season. The 30-year-old now trails <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/?s=+Osimhen+\">Victor Osimhen<\/a> by just six goals in the race to be Nigeria\u2019s top scorer among players in Europe\u2019s top divisions.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_154327\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-154327\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imago1060149413-750x500.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Nigeria Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen.\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\"  ><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-154327\">Nigeria Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen. Photo Credit X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Osimhen, currently on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli, has been in scintillating form, amassing 30 goals and seven assists in just 35 matches for the Turkish giants\u2014a staggering 37 goal contributions.<\/p>\n<p>The former Africa Footballer of the Year could extend his lead when Galatasaray trade tackles with Ey\u00fcpspor in their Turkish Super Lig clash on Sunday.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_158506\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-158506\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/04\/super-eagles-osimhen-2.html\/ns-announcement-email-soccernet-13\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NS-Announcement-Email-Soccernet-13.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Victor Osimhen\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"  ><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-158506\">Victor Osimhen [Photo credit\/Imago]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Behind Osimhen and Dessers, Genk\u2019s Tolu Arokodare occupies third place with 20 goals and seven assists, while Atalanta\u2019s Ademola Lookman follows closely with 18 goals and seven assists during another outstanding Serie A campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Dinamo City\u2019s Peter Mandela Itodo rounds out the top five, boasting 18 goals and five assists for the Albanian top-flight club.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Soccer Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150x150.jpg\"  height=\"80\" width=\"80\">\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/author\/imhonlamhen-eronmhonsele\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele turns into a ball of passion when writing about Nigerian football and its talents, whether rising stars or established legends, locally and abroad.<\/p>\n<p>From the deepest corners of the Middle East, to the green fields of the Americas, to the celebrated grounds in Europe, and the rich soils of Africa, Imhons is more than glad, usually with a glass of a tasty drink nearby, to capture the essence of the game, by connecting the dots between culture, identity, and football.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/04\/nigerias-osimhen-dessers-rangers.html\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Nigerian forward Cyriel Dessers continued his impressive scoring run by netting his 24th goal of the season, but it was not enough to earn Rangers victory as they were held to a 2-2 draw by St. Mirren at The SMISA Stadium on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports. Already out of the Scottish Premiership title race following [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":843966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[143476,21970,2005],"tags":[143475,86607],"class_list":{"0":"post-843965","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-marksmen","8":"category-nigerias","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-marksmen","11":"tag-nigerias"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}