Takumi Minamino produced a stunning strike in second-half stoppage time enabling AS Monaco to snatch all three points from RC Lens in a 3-2 win in France while Islamic Republic of Iran striker Sardar Azmoun started and won a penalty in AS Roma’s 3-2 victory against Torino in Italy on Monday.

Korean duo Cho Gue-sung and Lee Han-beom scored for title-chasing FC Midtjylland in Denmark while Socceroos midfielder Connor Metcalfe delivered the winner for FC St Pauli in Germany, so join the-AFC.com as we find out how the Asian stars performed in Europe over the past week.

England: Endo shines in Reds’ cup triumph

Japan captain Wataru Endo started for an injury-ravaged Liverpool who posted a 1-0 extra-time win against Chelsea in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. The 31-year-old defensive midfielder was one of the standout performers for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they came out on top, courtesy of a Virgil van Dijk header in the 118th minute.

The victory against the Blues gave Endo his first piece of silverware in England after joining the Merseyside club from Germany’s VfB Stuttgart last year and also his first title since the AFC Champions League™ triumph with Urawa Red Diamonds in 2017.

Endo was also a starter for Klopp in a 4-1 win against Luton Town on Wednesday which helped Liverpool maintain their one-point advantage over Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

France: Minamino hits stoppage-time winner

Takumi Minamino scored a 92nd-minute winner to help AS Monaco defeat RC Lens 3-2 on Sunday and climb to third place in the Ligue 1 table. Lens had restored parity after trailing the visitors by two goals, but Minamino drove into the box in the dying seconds before curling a left-footed strike into the goal.

Jordan winger Mousa Al Tamari headed his side ahead in the fifth minute, but Marseille came back to record a 4-1 win against Montpellier, who sit just above the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Japanese duo Junya Ito and Keito Nakamura started for Reims in a 2-1 win against Le Havre.

Italy: Azmoun impresses in Roma win

Sardar Azmoun started for AS Roma and won the penalty from which Paulo Dybala netted the first of his three goals for Daniele De Rossi’s side in their 3-2 win against Torino in Serie A on Monday. The Iranian striker drew a foul from defender Saba Sazonov in the 40th minute to earn the spot-kick as Roma posted back-to-back league wins.

Germany: Metcalfe extends St Pauli lead

Connor Metcalfe’s 57th-minute strike, assisted by Australian teammate Jackson Irvine, proved the winner as FC St Pauli posted a 4-3 win against Holstein Kiel in a top-of-the-table clash in the German second division on Friday. Japanese striker Shuto Machino was on target for Kiel who fell six points behind the leaders after the loss.

Ao Tanaka found the back of the net for Fortuna Dusseldorf as they defeated Hansa Rostock 2-0 on Sunday while his compatriot Tatsuya Ito sealed FC Magdeburg’s 3-0 win against Schalke on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Ritsu Doan helped SC Freiburg progress to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League with a 3-2 win against Abdukodir Khusanov’s Lens in the second leg of the knockout round play-off tie on Thursday and again started a 2-1 loss to Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Belgium: Ito winner for Sint-Truiden

Ryotaro Ito scored the only goal of the game in the 37th minute as Sint-Truiden edged Westerlo 1-0 in the Belgian Pro League on Saturday. Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, Joel Chima Fujita and Rihito Yamamoto were also involved for the winning side, while the club’s veteran striker Shinji Okazaki – who has not featured since December – has announced that he will retire at the end of the season.

Koki Machida started for Union SG as they beat German side Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 to win a two-legged play-off tie 4-3 and advance to the last 16 of the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday and then made a cameo appearance in their 2-1 win against Hayao Kawabe’s Standard Liege on Sunday.

Denmark: Korean duo score in thriller

Korea Republic striker Cho Gue-sung scored FC Midtjylland’s first goal from the penalty spot before Lee Han-beom bagged his maiden goal for the club as they edged AGF 3-2 on Sunday to stay within one point of the top spot in the Danish Superliga. Twenty-one-year-old defender Lee joined his compatriot Cho at the club from FC Seoul last August.

Meanwhile, Brondby lead the pack in Denmark after Japanese winger Yuito Suzuki opened the scoring in their 3-0 victory against Thailand full-back Nicholas Mickelson’s OB.

Scotland: Yang assists as Celtic chase

Yang Hyun-jun came off the bench to provide an assist while Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Tomoki Iwata started for Celtic as the defending champions scored twice in added time at the end of the second half to defeat Motherwell 3-1 on Sunday and remain two points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers.

Australian striker Tete Yengi also contributed an assist in Scotland this week but saw his Livingston side fall to a last-gasp 3-2 defeat at Ross County. Kwon Hyeok-kyu and Keanu Baccus were involved in St Mirren’s 2-0 win against St Johnstone while Lewis Miller, Martin Boyle and Nectarios Triantis helped Hibernian beat Dundee 2-1.