Meet Emmanuel Dennis, the Nigerian wonder kid whose brace dazzled Real Madrid at home

Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis, the Nigerian wonder kid whos brace against 13 times champions of UCL, Real Madrid, was born on 15th of November 1997.

The 21-year-old who began his career at Accademia di Abuja in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, plays as a striker for Belgian First Division A side Club Brugge and the Nigeria national team.

In March 2016, Dennis signed with Ukrainian Premier League club Zorya Luhansk. He made his debut in a game against Olimpik Donetsk on 24 July 2016, where he scored the opener in a 3–0 victory.

Dennis started the season on the bench mostly before being given his UEFA Europa League debut to Feyenoord on 3 November, which ended 1–1. After impressing against Feyenoord, he also played in the Ukrainian side’s other group stage games, to Fenerbahçe and Manchester United. Zorya ended up losing 2–0 in both matches and ending up getting eliminated from the group after finishing last in their group.

On 11 December, Dennis scored his first goal in a 2–0 win over Stal Kamianske. His performances attracted both Manchester City as well as an unknown Bundesliga side, who were interested in signing him in the winter transfer window. However, Dennis instead ended up staying with Zorya for the rest of the season, helping them to a third place in the league with his six goals in 22 league appearances.

Club Brugge announced on 30 May 2017 that they had signed Dennis on a four-year-deal for a fee of €1.2 million. He was given the number 42 jersey shirt. Dennis started the season extremely well, scoring five goals in six matches, including one on his debut on 26 July 2017 to İstanbul Başakşehir, a 3–3 draw and a brace three days later in the league over Lokeren, which finished in a 4–0 victory.

On 1 October 2019, Dennis scored twice in a 2–2 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium against Real Madrid in the group stage of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League season

Dennis has represented Nigeria on under-15 and under-23 level.

Dennis made his debut for the senior team on 10 September 2019 in a 2–2 friendly draw to Ukraine, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Samuel Chukwueze.

Dennis becomes the third Nigerian to score against Los Blancos in Europe’s elite club competition

With his brace in Club Brugge’s 2-2 draw against Real Madrid, Emmanuel Dennis has taken after Yusuf Ayila and James Obiorah who had found the net against Los Blancos in the Champions League history.

Furthermore, his first strike was the earliest goal scored by the Belgians in Champions League history.

The Blue-Black got off to the best possible start at Santiago Bernabeu, as Dennis gave the visitors a shock lead after nine minutes despite making a mess of Percy Tau’s cross.

He doubled his side’s lead six minutes before the half-time break after Luka Modric’s careless pass sent the youngster through on goal, before beating Thibaut Courtois in goal.

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