Champions League: Guirassy and Osimhen in a Race for the African Top Five

Guirassy is targeting the 20-goal mark, while Osimhen is looking to close the gap and break into the African Top 5

Africa Today at 04:22

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Champions League: Guirassy and Osimhen in a Race for the African Top Five

With 19 and 16 Champions League goals respectively, Serhou Guirassy and Victor Osimhen are the only two members of the African all-time Top 10 taking part in the new campaign. The Guinean starts with an advantage, but the Nigerian is already showing remarkable scoring form at the beginning of the season.

The new Champions League campaign will reignite the race for the best African goalscorers in the history of the competition. Behind established legends such as Mohamed Salah, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Sadio Mané, Serhou Guirassy and Victor Osimhen are now the only two active players from the African Top 10 involved in this edition.

The UEFA ranking before the start of the season has Guirassy in seventh place with 19 goals, ahead of Osimhen, who is eighth with 16. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Riyad Mahrez occupy fifth place with 20 goals each.

The equation is therefore clear. Guirassy is just one goal away from drawing level with Aubameyang and Mahrez and two away from moving past them. Osimhen, meanwhile, needs four goals to reach 20 and five to move into the Top Five outright.

Guirassy starts as the favorite

The Guinean has the advantage in the rankings, as well as recent Champions League experience. During his first campaign in the competition with Borussia Dortmund in 2024-2025, Guirassy scored 13 goals, finishing as the Champions League’s top scorer.

He then added four goals in the 2025-2026 edition. His total with Dortmund therefore stands at 17 Champions League goals, making him the club’s second-highest scorer in the competition, behind Marco Reus and his 24 goals.

His start to the 2026-2027 season has been quieter in terms of statistics, but he has already found the net in the Bundesliga. Starting against Hamburg on the opening matchday, Guirassy opened the scoring in the ninth minute to help Dortmund secure a 2-0 victory.

He also played in the German Super Cup against Bayern Munich without scoring, before remaining on the bench for the first round of the German Cup against HEBC.

Guirassy therefore heads into the European campaign with 19 career Champions League goals, including 17 for Dortmund, as well as one Bundesliga goal this season.

Osimhen, the fast-chasing contender

Victor Osimhen trails Guirassy by three goals, but his start to the season has been far more spectacular. After three rounds of the Turkish Süper Lig, the Nigerian striker already has five goals and two assists in three appearances, meaning he has been directly involved in seven of Galatasaray’s goals. He scored braces in each of the first two matchdays before finding the net again against Göztepe on August 29.

That form represents a serious warning for Guirassy. Osimhen enters the Champions League with considerable attacking momentum and plays for a Galatasaray side that relies heavily on him.

The Nigerian also has significant recent European experience. He has scored 16 Champions League goals and currently ranks eighth among African scorers in the competition.

The question now is whether he can translate his excellent domestic form into European goals.

Dortmund face a mixed schedule

Borussia Dortmund will begin their campaign at home against Villarreal on September 8. The German side will then face Bodø/Glimt, Sabah, Real Betis, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Aston Villa and AEK Athens.

The schedule presents two different scenarios for Guirassy.

On the one hand, the games against Sabah and AEK Athens appear, on paper, to be good opportunities for Dortmund to control proceedings and regularly put their striker in scoring positions. The matches against Bodø/Glimt and Real Betis could also provide space for the German attack to exploit.

On the other hand, Guirassy will have to face Arsenal and Inter Milan, two opponents of a completely different caliber. The trip to Arsenal will be particularly demanding, while Inter will visit Signal Iduna Park on matchday six.

Dortmund’s schedule does, however, have one interesting feature: they will host Villarreal, Real Betis, Inter and AEK Athens. Four of their eight league-phase matches will therefore be played in front of their home fans.

Osimhen faces Barcelona and PSG

Galatasaray’s schedule is also a mix of opportunities and major challenges. The Turkish club will begin on September 9 away to Sporting CP before hosting Barcelona on October 13.

A trip to Lille will follow, along with home matches against Stuttgart and Aston Villa. Galatasaray will then travel to AEK Athens, host Feyenoord and finish the league phase away to Paris Saint-Germain on January 27, 2027.

For Osimhen, several fixtures could prove particularly important in the race for goals. Lille, Stuttgart, Aston Villa, AEK Athens and Feyenoord are all games in which the Nigerian striker could find favorable scoring opportunities if Galatasaray manage to impose their style of play.

His schedule also contains two major obstacles: Barcelona and PSG. Barcelona will travel to Istanbul, while PSG will host Galatasaray on the final matchday of the league phase.

Who has the advantage?

It is difficult to name a clear winner, but Guirassy appears slightly better positioned on paper. The Guinean already has a three-goal advantage, plays for a Dortmund side accustomed to European competition and has a schedule that includes home fixtures against Villarreal, Real Betis, Inter and AEK Athens. His biggest advantage, however, remains his starting total: 19 goals compared with Osimhen’s 16.

The Nigerian has a major argument in his favor, though: his current form. With five goals and two assists after three league matches, Osimhen has already shown that he can quickly close the gap.

Galatasaray’s schedule is also far from unfavorable overall. Home games against Stuttgart and Aston Villa, as well as the trip to AEK Athens, could provide opportunities for Osimhen. Barcelona and, especially, PSG, however, represent two fixtures in which his chances could be more limited.

Guirassy has the advantage in terms of his starting total and a slight edge in the schedule, while Osimhen holds the advantage in terms of early-season form. The race therefore remains completely open.

A race that could quickly change

The opening matchday will already provide an early indication. Guirassy will host Villarreal with Dortmund, while Osimhen will travel to Sporting CP with Galatasaray. Both strikers will therefore have an immediate opportunity to get their European campaigns underway.

For Guirassy, the objective is twofold: overtake Aubameyang and Mahrez and move closer to the leading group of African scorers, while also continuing his pursuit of Marco Reus’ Dortmund record.

For Osimhen, the mission is even more ambitious: erase his three-goal deficit, reach 20 goals and then move ahead of Guirassy.

The race, however, will not be decided solely over the eight league-phase matches. If Dortmund or Galatasaray reach the knockout stages, every additional fixture will give the two strikers another opportunity to increase their totals.

With Guirassy’s lead and Osimhen’s current form, the battle for a place in the African Top Five promises to be one of the defining storylines of the new European campaign.