Taiwo Awoniyi's stirring display against Chelsea took Nottingham Forest away from the Premier League's twisting relegation battle (for now), while leaving Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United still fighting, with three matches to play.
Beyond Awoniyi, there's significant African interest at each of the three sides in jeopardy, with the likes of El Hadji Malick Diouf, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Pape Matar Sarr each playing for their club's PL survival before they can turn their attention to next month's FIFA World Cup.
Awoniyi, Aina and Ivory Coast duo
Of course, there will be no trip to North America for Nigeria's Awoniyi, whose two-goal showing for Forest at Stamford Bridge has moved Vitor Pereira's side six points above the drop zone after 35 matches.
It hasn't been a vintage season for the 28-year-old. He had scored just two goals for Forest in 13 league outings before Monday's game, with a combination of fitness problems, loss of form and competition limiting his impact under any of Forest's three different head coaches so far this season.
Certainly, however, based on Monday's display, Pereira has got something out of the former Union Berlin man that neither Nuno Espirito Santo nor Sean Dyche managed, with Awoniyi showcasing what he still offers at this level as Chelsea were unable to contain him.
Forest are still fighting on multiple fronts this season, with a second leg of a Europa League semifinal to play against Aston Villa on Thursday, with the two-time European Cup winners holding a 1-0 advantage from the first leg of their tie.
Such is the chaos of this era at the club, that -- before Monday, at least -- they were still in the running to feature in both the Championship and the Champions League next season, by virtue of PL relegation and victory in Europe's secondary club competition.
With fixtures coming fast, and yet another new manager not having anything like the time required to entrench his vision and style in this team, there's something confused, uncontrolled and unrefined about this Forest side.
And it works. They didn't need control against Chelsea -- registering just 33 percent of the possession -- but this squad can thrive with a more direct, reactive style.
Awoniyi, in particular, can use his instincts and physical qualities to bear; he showed, against Chelsea, his clinical finishing -- essential when chances are at a premium -- as well as the strength required to pin defenders, the pace to attack space, and the anticipation to steal in ahead of the hosts' defenders and take Forest to the brink of safety.
The Nigerian will play no part in the Europa League semi against Villa, having not been registered for the squad, but here, he spearheaded a much-changed Forest side and served an ample reminder of his enduring qualities.
"[He brings] everything," Pereira said of his new star striker after the match. "Taiwo is a danger player.
"He is not on the list in the Europa League, but we know he will push the defensive line of the opponents because he runs, attacks the space, holds the ball," he added. "This is the kind of spirit and the smile and energy we need in this team."
Beyond Awoniyi, Ola Aina was rested against Chelsea, but should return to his position at rightback for the Villa second leg, while Cote d'Ivoire duo Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangaré played no part in West London either. The former has not been registered for the League this term, while midfielder Sangare is continuing his comeback from an unknown injury.
It's been a testing and arduous season for Forest, launching from delirium to crisis too readily under Evangelos Marinakis, but their relegation concerns being eased should now allow them to focus more squarely on their semifinal second leg.
This club, of course, have immense continental pedigree, and their capacity to achieve the unexpected could yet see them end the year with unlikely gold.
Bissouma, Sarr, and Kudus
While Forest's victory takes them five points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in 17th, Spurs and their Africa contingent can look back on their best and most important weekend of the season so far.
The Lilywhites have had things even tougher than Forest this term, also going through two previous head coaches before settling on Roberto De Zerbi as the man to attempt to dig them out of relegation.
Consecutive wins have taken them to 17th and above West Ham, with the incoming Italian head coach appearing keen to continue where his predecessors had failed in rehabilitating the fallen Yves Bissouma.
Once a £30 million signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, disciplinary issues affected the midfielder under both Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank, while he didn't feature at all in the league during the first half of the season due to injury.
After an underwhelming Africa Cup of Nations however, and amidst an injury crisis at Spurs, he's steadily forced his way back into contention, and again reaffirmed his value under De Zerbi this weekend.
The former Olympique de Marseille has revived Spurs, giving them belief, ensuring they play on the front foot, and injecting the team with energy. Here, Bissouma is proving key, entering for the final 23 minutes to contribute fresh legs with Rodrigo Bentancur, in particular, tiring.
Considering he had previously been written off by the club, and had appeared prime for a January exit, his return to prominence represents a significant turnaround even though, out of contract next month, the 29-year-old still looks to be playing his final matches for the club.
Senegal's Pape Matar Sarr has also been a prominent figure for Tottenham this season, although he too has fallen foul of the club's miserable injury record in recent weeks after sustaining a shoulder complaint.
He returned as a late substitute against Villa, his first appearance since April 12, and could yet have a key role to play in the season's conclusion as he did last term, notably in the Europa League final triumph over Manchester United.
While the 23-year-old former CAF Young Player of the Year is under contract for a further four years at Spurs, reports linking him with the likes of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain persist, and relegation or not, Sarr might have more than just the World Cup to look forward to.
It remains to be seen whether Mohammed Kudus will join him at the tournament, with the Ghana midfielder out of action since January 4, and unlikely to be in any position to join up with the Black Stars.
He'll be watching on as Tottenham close their campaign with home games against Leeds United and Everton sandwiched between a trip to Chelsea.
The ESPN FC team discusses Tottenham Hotspur's performance against Aston Villa in their Premier League clash, breaking down what Spurs must do to avoid relegation.
Wan-Bissaka and Diouf
Spurs' upturn under De Zerbi, coupled with West Ham's disastrous 3-0 defeat by Brentford on Saturday has plunged the Hammers back into the bottom three ahead of their upcoming meeting with champions elect Arsenal.
Fullbacks El Hadji Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were both in action against Brentford, as the visitors had a goal ruled out for the narrowest of offsides and hit the woodwork on four occasions as they fell to a 3-0 away loss.
Diouf was nearly responsible for the Hammers' equaliser, when his fine freekick was headed home by Dinos Mavropanos, who was ultimately ruled offside following an excruciating wait for VAR.
The Senegal international was then culpable as Brentford scored their second -- a 54th-minute penalty by Igor Thiago -- after he'd fouled Burkina Faso wideman Dango Ouattara in the box, with the Video Assistant again called into action to determine whether a foul had taken place and whether it was inside the area or not.
It was a momentary lapse that may cost West Ham dearly as they drop one point behind Spurs with arguably a tougher run-in ahead of them, although it ought not take the shine off what has been an encouraging debut season in England for the 21-year-old. Manchester United are understood to be monitoring his services.
The Bees' Dasilva
Brentford's victory was also notably for the return to action of midfielder Josh Dasilva, making his first appearance since a devastating injury laid him out in January 2024.
The 27-year-old, who is eligible for Angola or the Democratic Republic of Congo, had to wait over two years before returning to training as he worked on his rehabilitation on isolation, but after ending his 822-day spell on the sidelines by coming off the bench against the Hammers, can now look forward to making up for lost time.
"I got quite emotional looking at him coming into the pitch." Brentford head coach Keith Andrews said after the match: "He's a very special human being, a very intelligent young man and his ability isn't in doubt.
"I was looking at him from afar in years gone by. We just need to keep Josh fit and I think the rest will be absolutely fine."
A sliver lining for fans in Africa is that The Championship airs on ESPN's channels (DStv 218 and 219, Starsat 248) and on Disney+ in South Africa.