Olunga up against Santi Carzola in Champions League award

Kenyan international Michael Olunga’s 25 yards free-kick has earned a nomination in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Goal of the Group Stage.

Olunga scored a sumptuous free-kick as he unleashed a thunderbolt that caught the keeper by surprise as it sneaked into the net. 

The Al Duhail forward will be up against Mohammad Abbaszadeh, Sharof Mukhiddinov, Mehdi Ghaedi, Santi Cazorla, Abderrazak Hamdallah, Carlos Eduardo and Shahriyar Moghanlou.

AFC revealed why Olunga’s goal earned a nomination as the strike was not enough for Duhail to progress to the knockout phases of the tournament. 

“In a tense, winner-takes-all encounter between Qatar's Al Duhail SC and Al Ahli Saudi FC, it was the competition’s leading scorer who opened the scoring at the hour mark,”

“Michael Olunga lined up a free-kick from 25 yards out and powered in a shot underneath the Al Ahli Saudi wall and past Mohammed Al Owais for his ninth goal of the campaign. The ensuing 1-1 draw, however, meant both sides were eliminated,” read a statement from AFC.

Fans wishing to vote for Olunga can do so via the Champions League official portal with the poll set to close on Saturday, May 8.

The 27-year-old is currently the top scorer of the competition after netting nine goals for Duhail in the group stages and becoming the first player to break the nine-goal barrier since 2016.

The former Gor Mahia forward scored in every game of the Champions League group stage and could still win the Golden Boot despite his team being knocked out as his closest challenger is four goals behind.