N'Doye brace boosts Hull survival hopes

Senegalese Dame N'Doye scored twice to give Hull City a 2-0 English Premier League win at Crystal Palace and three precious points in a fight against relegation.

N'Doye was a constant threat at the weekend and wasted two chances before bagging a brace to keep his club just above the drop zone.

Ivorian Max-Alain Gradel made it nine goals from nine Ligue 1 matches by scoring for Saint-Etienne and Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck his ninth goal in 13 Bundesliga games for Borussia Dortmund.

ENGLAND

DAME N'DOYE (Hull City)

The Senegal striker scored both goals in a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace that left Hull a point above the relegation zone and ended a run of six games without a win.

N'Doye missed two good chances before he scored, somehow steering Robbie Brady's cross wide from six yards out and hitting the post with a header from a tight angle early in the second half. But he made amends in the 52nd minute by bundling home Brady's deflected shot and then sealed victory in stoppage time with a low shot.

YAYA TOURE (Manchester City)

It seems that speculation over the Ivory Coast midfielder's future at Eastlands will be a hot topic of conversation between now and the end of the season, not least if his outspoken agent Dimitri Seluk adds to his criticism of the Eastlands hierarchy. Toure did his best to turn attention to matters on the field with a strong first-half display in a 3-2 win at home to Aston Villa that saw him volley just wide from the edge of the area before he was replaced at the break,apparently because of injury.

SADIO MANE (Southampton)

Has been one of the reliable mainstays of Southampton's impressive season and it was the Senegal midfielder's typically strong, driving run that released substitute Shane Long to provide a cross that was headed in by Graziano Pelle for his second of two goals as the south coast club went 2-1 up against Tottenham Hotspur before Nacer Chadli ensured a share of the spoils at St Mary's.

PETER ODEMWINGIE (Stoke City)

This has been a frustrating season for the Nigeria forward, but he came off the bench 10 minutes from time in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland to make his first appearance since August after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.

SPAIN

NORDIN AMRABAT, CARLOS KAMENI (Malaga)

Despite Moroccan forward Amrabat registering his sixth goal of the season, Malaga's European hopes suffered another blow as they were held 1-1 at home by relegation-threatened Deportivo la Coruna. Amrabat smashed home the opener early in the second-haf, but there was nothing former Cameroon goalkeeper Kameni could do to prevent Oriol Riera snatching a vital point for the visitors.

THIEVY BIFOUMA (Almeria)

Congo Brazzaville star Bifouma struck for just the second time this season to give Almeria's survival hopes a huge boost in a 2-0 win over Eibar. The former Espanyol striker put the hosts in front with a powerful drive from outside the area.

ITALY

EMMANUEL AGYEMANG-BADU (Udinese)

The Ghana midfielder starred as he bagged his first goal of the season to seal a 2-1 victory for Udinese over fallen giants AC Milan. Agyemang-Badu pounced on a loose ball to put the home side 2-0 ahead 15 minutes from time.

ZOUHAIR FEDDAL (Parma)

Cash-strapped Serie A strugglers Parma kept their hopes of staying in the Italian elite alive thanks to a 1-0 home win over Palermo. Morocco defender Feddal starred with a miraculous clearance off the line before getting booked on 57 minutes.

FRANCE

JORDAN AYEW (Lorient)

The Ghana striker is enjoying an impressive season with struggling Lorient following his move from Marseille last summer. He returned to face his old club at the Stade Velodrome and scored twice in a remarkable 5-3 victory for the Brittany outfit. He got the opening goal with a fine strike from outside the box and crucially put Lorient 4-3 up six minutes from time with a marvellous solo effort. Ayew has 11 league goals this season after scoring only 14 times in 111 Ligue 1 games for OM.

FERJANI SASSI (Metz)

The tall Tunisian midfielder, 23, scored his first goal since joining Metz from CS Sfaxien in his homeland in January, but his side were pegged back to a 1-1 draw at Bordeaux that leaves them eight points from safety with five games to play.

FRANCOIS KAMANO (Bastia)

The teenager from Guinea produced a fine second-half performance to score both goals for Bastia as the Corsicans came from behind to beat Evian 2-1 and claim a precious three points in their fight to beat the drop. Kamano now has four Ligue 1 goals for the season after doubling his tally in just over half an hour against Evian.

MAX-ALAIN GRADEL (Saint-Etienne)

Gradel continued his fantastic form since helping the Ivory Coast win the Africa Cup of Nations, scoring the only goal of the game in Saint-Etienne's 1-0 win against Montpellier to take Les Verts closer to European qualification. Since returning from the Cup of Nations, Gradel has scored nine goals in nine league games.

CLINTON NJIE (Lyon)

The 21-year-old Cameroon international started Lyon's game at Reims and scored his sixth league goal of the season in a 4-2 victory that keeps OL right in the hunt for the Ligue 1 title. It was his fifth goal since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, where Cameroonian fans and media were left perplexed by the refusal of veteran German coach Volker Finke to pick him as the Indomitable Lions bowed out in the group stage.

GERMANY

PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG (Borussia Dortmund)

The Gabon striker picked up his 20th goal of the season by converting a first-half penalty, then set up Shinji Kagawa for the second goal as Borussia Dortmund enjoyed a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. With nine goals in 13 league games in 2015, Aubameyang has filled the boots of Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, who joined Bayern Munich at the end of last season, and is Borussia’s top scorer this season.

ASSANI LUKIMYA (Werder Bremen)

The Democratic Republic of Congo centre-back provided the final pass for midfielder Izet Hajrovic to equalise in Werder Bremen's 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Paderborn.