Nigerian forward Bamidele Yusuf delivered the decisive strike as Ferencváros sealed a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over RB Salzburg in their UEFA Europa League Group Stage clash on Thursday night.
The Hungarian giants fought back brilliantly after Edmund Baidoo’s 13th-minute opener had put the hosts ahead.
In an explosive eight-minute spell early in the second half, Ferencváros turned the match around with three goals.
Barnabás Varga equalised in the 50th minute, Kristoffer Zachariassen made it 2-1 six minutes later, before Yusuf finished off a sweeping move to extend the lead in the 58th.
Although Yorbe Vertessen pulled one back for Salzburg in the 72nd minute, the visitors’ defence held firm to claim an emotional victory in Austria, their second win in three Europa League outings this season.
The result keeps Ferencváros among the competition’s top-performing sides, having also drawn 1-1 with Viktoria Plzen and edged Genk 1-0 in previous games.
“We did it.” — Bamidele Yusuf’s roar of joy
Moments after the final whistle, Yusuf summed up the night in just five words on social media: “We did it. Great fight.”
The 24-year-old accompanied his post on X (formerly Twitter) with a celebratory image of himself and the game’s scoreline. It was a simple but powerful message both of pride and relief after a historic personal milestone.
Yusuf’s strike is his first-ever Europa League goal, coming in just his second appearance in the competition this season.
It also took his tally to eight goals and four assists in ten matches across all competitions, including an incredible four-goal haul in Ferencváros’ 15-0 Hungarian Cup win over Szarvaskend earlier this campaign.
Since joining the club from Vojvodina in the summer, the Jos-born winger has quickly become one of Ferencváros’ most effective attacking threats.
Thursday’s goal was his fifth in five games for the Green Eagles, a run of form that has made him a fan favourite in Budapest.
Yusuf was substituted for Lenny Joseph in the 72nd minute, moments after Salzburg reduced the deficit, but by then, his job was done, his name already etched into Ferencváros’ growing European story.
Born in Jos, Nigeria, Yusuf played amateur football for FC Obazz before sealing a move to Europe in 2019 to join Spartak Trnava. He has also playd for Portuguese club Estoril and Serbia’s Radnički Niš.
