Mohammed Kudus scored a wonderful free kick for Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday, but the strike was eclipsed by his moving tribute to Christian Atsu, whose death in the Turkey earthquakes was confirmed on Saturday.
Elsewhere, the relentless Victor Osimhen continued his remarkable goal-scoring run in spectacular fashion in Italy and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting boosted his hopes of securing a new contract with Bayern Munich.
The football world united in tribute to Atsu after his death was confirmed on Saturday morning. His former clubs acknowledged his passing before their fixtures, and Ghana‘s Kudus — whose international career began five months after Atsu’s last Black Stars outing — paid personal tribute to his compatriot.
Kudus netted Ajax’s fourth goal in their 4-0 thumping of Sparta Rotterdam, scoring with a magnificent left-footed free kick six minutes from full-time having earlier hit the woodwork with a fine effort.
Kudus, 22, celebrated by revealing a shirt with ‘RIP Atsu’ emblazoned on the front before dropping to his knees and raising his arms to the sky. The act of raising his shirt should have earned Kudus a booking but referee Pol van Boekel opted not to penalise the player given the reason behind his tribute.
