Spanish-born Nigerian forward Kevin Carlos continued his impressive season by netting his seventh league goal in FC Basel’s thrilling 2-2 draw against Sebastian Osigwe’s FC Lugano on Sunday.
The 23-year-old is steadily making his mark in the Swiss Super League and is halfway to matching his 14-goal haul from last season when he shared the Golden Boot with St Gallen’s Chadrac Akolo and Lugano’s Zan Celar.
Carlos opened the scoring for Basel in the 24th minute, latching onto a sublime through ball from Xherdan Shaqiri and finishing clinically into the bottom-right corner. The goal highlighted the Super Eagles-eligible forward's predatory instincts, but he could have added more to his tally.
In the 33rd minute, the striker squandered a golden chance to double Basel’s lead, heading just over the bar after a precise cross from Joe Mendes. His afternoon also included five off-target shots, a blocked effort, and two big chances missed.
Lugano rally with Osigwe watching but fall short
The hosts leveled the match in the 47th minute through Anto Grgic’s penalty before taking the lead six minutes later via Albian Hajdari’s close-range finish. Basel, however, fought back, with Shaqiri converting an 87th-minute penalty to secure a share of the spoils.
Carlos was substituted in the 79th minute after contributing 28 touches, completing 67% of his passes, and winning three of his four aerial duels. Despite his missed opportunities, the Nigerian forward remains a pivotal figure in Basel’s attack.
Osigwe, another Nigerian in the matchday squad, was an unused substitute for Lugano.
Basel’s draw leaves them in second place with 31 points while Lugano remain 1st on the log with 32 points from 19 games.
