By Abiodun Adewale
Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi is relishing his first English Premier League Man-of-The-Match Award following his outstanding performance in Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Sunday night, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The former Liverpool man grabbed the headlines for Forest, getting 39.7 per cent of the votes ahead of Ivoirian defender, Serge Aurier, who scored the equaliser for Nottingham Forest.
Awoniyi took to his Facebook page on Monday to express his delight about the award, and how felt after match.
“Master of the Universe. We worship your name, king of all universe. Let the year begin. Thankful to have gotten my first ever Premier League MOTM award but also disappointed a spirited performance from the team didn’t end with three points. We keep pushing,” he posted.
Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro was also in attendance as Awoniyi posted the impressive performance.
Awoniyi tormented the Chelsea backline and was taken off by Forest manager Steve Cooper in the 88th minute with a loud applause from the fans.
After receiving his award, Awoniyi was pictured with Peseiro, teammate Emmanuel Dennis, who was an unused substitute in the game, his family and FIFPRO’s Debola Adebanjo.
The 25-year-old has scored three goals in 15 league appearances for Cooper’s side.
Forest are now third from bottom of the Premier League standings with 14 points from 17 matches and are expected to return to action in a relegation battle against Southampton on Wednesday.