Calvin Bassey was influential as Fulham defeated Manchester United on penalties in Sunday’s FA Cup showdown, but the Nigeria international’s impact was overshadowed by the post-match racist and anti-gay abuse directed at the defender on social media.
Bassey’s international teammate Nathan Tella was also among the goals as Bayer Leverkusen defeated Eintracht Frankfurt, while Gambia‘s Yankuba Minteh enjoyed his return to Newcastle United as Brighton & Hove Albion progressed in the FA Cup.
Bassey’s FA Cup showing against United on Sunday was the defender’s latest star turn for Marco Silva’s Fulham.
The 25-year-old scored the winner against Nottingham Forest in February — his first goal of the season — and he followed up with the opening header, late in the first half, to set the Cottagers on their way to an FA Cup triumph at Old Trafford.
Rodrigo Muniz flicked on Andreas Pereira‘s searing corner in the first minute of first-half stoppage-time, and Bassey, capitalising on a lapse in concentration by Morocco‘s Noussair Mazraoui, leapt to head powerfully beyond André Onana.
“It’s a privilege and an honour to be here,” Bassey said on BBC Sport. “It’s a blessing to come here, so I’m happy. I like to say I’m a bit of a poacher. I was trying to smell where the ball would go, and I reacted first, put my head on it, and it was in the back of the net.”
The defender’s big intervention also received praise from the Premier League’s all-time top scorer, Alan Shearer, speaking on BBC commentary.
“The movement of the Fulham players in and around the 18-yeard box was excellent,” Shearer said. “You can see [Manchester United] are slow to react, but you have to be bright, quicker to react. United players aren’t, but Fulham are; Bassey in particular, he just guides it into the corner.”
Bruno Fernandes equalised for United midway through the second half, but the hosts couldn’t find a winner, and Victor Lindelöf and Joshua Zirkzee missed their spot-kicks as Fulham prevailed on penalties.
“They’re a very good team, with a lot of talent,” Bassey said of United. “We tried to take the sting out of the game and control possession. They had their chances and sometimes a game goes down to penalties. We had a bit of fortune with the penalties, with [Bernd Leno] saving two.
“I’m proud of every single player. We’re buzzing and we take each game as it comes. That’s the best way to take each game; don’t get too down with the losses and don’t let the wins get to your head.”
Bassey produced a commanding display; only one player on the pitch — his defensive partner Joachim Andersen — had more touches of the ball, while the Nigerian also made seven clearances and three interceptions as the visitors kept Ruben Amorim’s side at bay.
Only Mazraoui completed more dribbles during the match, while no one was fouled more often as the Red Devils struggled to deal with the centre-back.
Bassey, neverthless, wasn’t named Player of the Match, and he responded to a tweet from the official FA Cup handle praising his performance by questioning why he hadn’t received the award.
Shearer — who picked United captain Fernandes for the award — acknowledged on Monday that Bassey would have been a worthy winner as well.
“I thought Calvin Bassey was very good,” Shearer said on The Rest Is Football podcast. “If I could have waited until after penalties, then it might have gone to Leno; it perhaps should have gone to Calvin Bassey, who I thought was absolutely superb at centre-half. I send my apologies to Calvin, then. He should have got Man of the Match; there you go.”
In the aftermath of Fulham’s triumph, it became apparent that Bassey had been the subject of vile racist and anti-gay abuse on social media, with the player sharing screenshots of the comments posted on his Instagram account.
Fulham, the Premier League, and the Nigeria Football Federation were among the organisations that stood in solidarity with the defender on Monday, with his club describing the posts as “abhorrent.”
Fulham’s victory over United — their first over the Red Devils in the FA Cup since 1908 — sees them face Crystal Palace in an all-London quarterfinal, although Bassey and co. have to travel to Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur for Premier League fixtures before the Last Eight showdown.
Bassey’s next challenge will see him attempting to neutralise Minteh, who starred upon his return to Newcastle at the weekend.
Newcastle had to part ways with the West African ahead of the season, to ensure compliance with profit and sustainability rules, with the club accepting a £30 million offer from the Seagulls.
In truth, despite some bright showings, Minteh hasn’t always looked like a guaranteed success story on the south coast; he’s only recently established himself as a regular starter under Fabian Hürzeler, with the young German head coach not appearing to entirely trust the 20-year-old earlier in the season.
Goals and assists have followed, with Minteh having a hand in six goals in his nine outings before Sunday’s FA Cup meeting, compared with three goal involvements in his previous 16 appearances.
His return to St James’ Park didn’t start propitiously, with Minteh giving away a penalty midway through the first half when he brought down Tino Livramento.
Newcastle fans joked on social media that “Agent Minteh” was doing his former club a favour, although their jovial outlook wasn’t to endure.
Minteh made amends just before halftime, using his pace to race in behind the hosts’ defence, picking up a through ball from Joao Pedro, and opening his body to shoot beyond Martin Dúbravka. A significant deflection from the onrushing Kieran Trippier left the goalkeeper with no chance, and Danny Welbeck‘s extra-time winner sent Brighton into the quarters.
In the German Bundesliga, Tella excelled for Bayer as they defeated Eintracht 4-1 away to keep the heat on league leaders Bayern Munich.
Tella, in his first outing since the 0-0 draw with Bayern in mid-February, opened the scoring with his first goal since late January when he met Granit Xhaka‘s pass, forged some space with a dummy, then swept a cool right-footed effort beyond Kevin Trapp.
Tella’s opener broke Eintracht’s resolve, and Leverkusen led 3-0 seven minutes later.
Victor Boniface was introduced with 13 minutes to play, as Tella was withdrawn, but failed to hit the target with his sole effort.
“Anything is possible,” Tella said after the match, when asked about Leverkusen’s chances of unseating Bayern and retaining the Bundesliga crown. “I’ve often seen teams collapse at the end. If we just focus on what we can do, there is no reason why we can’t increase the pressure further.”
Bayer, and their Nigerian duo, are eight points off the league leaders with 10 games to play.