Nigerian left-back Taiwo is toast of Marseille

Nigeria left-back Taye Taiwo grabbed the late winner as Marseille retained the French League Cup with a 1-0 victory over Montpellier at the weekend. Experienced Taiwo is renowned for explosive shooting and his goal came 10 minutes from full-time in Paris when Montpellier failed to clear the ball after a free kick. Midfielder Peter Odemwingie was another Nigerian on target in Europe as he put West Bromwich Albion ahead at Tottenham Hotspur, holding off Cameroon defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto before firing home with just five minutes gone. ENGLAND , ASAMOAH GYAN (Sunderland) The Ghana striker hit a crucial equaliser as Sunderland came from behind to beat Wigan 4-2 at the Stadium of Light. Gyan scored his first goal in seven league matches when he headed in Steed Malbranque's cross on 55 minutes. That goal inspired Sunderland to their first win in 10 matches and eased their relegation fears, although Gyan later came off with a hamstring injury. PETER ODEMWINGIE (West Brom) The Nigeria striker bagged his fourth goal in five matches to help Albion to a 2-2 draw at Tottenham. Odemwingie held off a challenge from Cameroon defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto before firing home for his 13th goal of an impressive debut season with the Baggies. MOHAMED DIAME (Wigan) The Senegal midfielder scored his first Premier League goal this season but that couldn't prevent his struggling side crashing to a 4-2 defeat at Sunderland. Diame struck with a powerful long-range effort in the 52nd minute, but Sunderland stormed back to leave Wigan stuck in the relegation zone. DIDIER DROGBA (Chelsea) The Ivory Coast forward gave another dominant display as Chelsea kept alive their title challenge with a 3-0 win against West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Although Drogba didn't get on the score-sheet, he was instrumental in all Chelsea's best moments as the Blues stayed six points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United. MICHAEL ESSIEN (Chelsea) The Ghana midfielder suffered an injury scare as he limped off during his side's 3-0 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Essien signalled that he needed to be replaced after 56 minutes and Chelsea are waiting to discover the extent of the problem. ALEX SONG (Arsenal) The Cameroon midfielder was substituted after 65 minutes as his side's title challenge ended with a 2-1 defeat at Bolton. Song had been booked for a foul on Lee Chung-Yong earlier and his below-par performance summed up another disappointing result for Arsenal that left the Gunners nine points behind leaders Manchester United with just four games to play. FRANCE , TAYE TAIWO (Marseille) His late goal saw Marseille edge Montpellier 1-0 in the French League Cup final and become the first team to retain the trophy in its 17-year history. Left-back Taiwo rifled home with 10 minutes to play after Montpellier failed to clear a free-kick, allowing the Nigerian international to drive the ball through a crowd of players. LARSEN TOURE , AHMED KANTARI (Brest) Guinea international Toure scored Brest's first goal in a 2-2 draw against Paris Saint Germain. In a frantic end to the opening period Brest, who have fallen away badly after a bright first half of the campaign, turned things around as Toure levelled in the 27th minute, but an own goal from Moroccan international Kantari three minutes from time gave PSG a share of the points. STEPHANE MBIA , CHARLES KABORE (Marseille) Cameroon international Mbia had to be replaced by Burkina Faso midfielder Kabore after appearing to jar his knee just seven minutes into the French League Cup final win over Montpellier. CHEIKH DIABATE (Bordeaux) Malian Diabate scored the second goal for Bordeaux a minute from time in a 2-0 win over Saint Etienne which saw the Girondins leapfrog 'Les Verts' and move into sixth place - though both have nine points to make up on Lyon and PSG and are unlikely to book Champions League slots. MOUSSA SOW (Lille) The Senegalese striker provided the cross which allowed Mathieu Debuchy open the scoring for top-of-the-table Lille two minutes before the break in a 1-1 draw at Lorient. The leaders have taken just two points from their last three games and are in danger of being overtaken by Marseille, who play Wednesday. GERMANY , DIDIER YA KONAN (Hanover 96) The Ivory Coast striker, who has 13 goals in 25 league games this season, did not play in side's 3-1 win at Freiburg, which put them third in the Bundesliga, but he has attracted the attentions of Bayern Munich. Hanover coach Mirko Slomka has accused Bayern of seeking to cause trouble by declaring an interest in Ya Konan with the two sides battling to finish third and win a Champions League place next season. MOHAMADOU IDRISSOU (Borussia Moenchengladbach) The Cameroon striker scored the first-half goal which gave relegation-threatened 'Gladbach a shock 1-0 win over leaders Dortmund. The victory took the hosts off the bottom of the table for the first time since November thanks to the 31-year-old's fifth goal of the season. ITALY , SAMUEL ETO'O (Inter Milan) The Cameroon captain continued his incredible scoring season with the winner in the 2-1 victory over Lazio. It took his tally in all competitions to 33 goals, although in the league he is only third in the scoring charts. With his side down to 10 men, Eto'o used his searing pace to chase onto a punt forward from Javier Zanetti, putting Giuseppe Biava under desperate pressure. When the Lazio defender slipped, Eto'o pounced, rounding goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and slotting into the empty net. KEVIN-PRINCE BOATENG (AC Milan) The Ghana midfielder maintained his position as the league leaders' trequartista behind makeshift strike-pairing Antonio Cassano and Robinho in the 1-0 victory at Brescia. As ever, Boateng caused problems with his forward thrusts and should have been rewarded in the first half with an assist. He burst down the right and sent a Beckham-esque cross onto Cassano's head six yards out, but the Italy international somehow missed the target. SPAIN, PIERRE WEBO (Mallorca) The Cameroon striker is enjoying his best form in Spain having scored a record seven goals this season. Webo played the first half against Getafe and was a threat in attack but was unable to beat goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. Getafe went on to win 2-0 which practically assures them of top-flight safety. SEYDOU KEITA (Barcelona) The Mali midfielder again showed his value to the team as he played a steady midfield role in a 2-0 win over Osasuna. He had an important physical presence, but was shown a yellow card for jumping with his elbow against defender Lolo Toribio