Adebayor scored his first hat-trick in France

The finest African performance of the weekend came in Ligue 1, where Togolese international Emmanuel Adebayor scored three goals in Monaco's 4-0 thrashing of Montpellier.

The hat-trick was Adebayor's first in the French league.

Ivorian striker Didier Drogba gave Marseille a 1-0 lead against Nantes but the away team equalised for a 1-1 draw.

The other African goalscorer in France was Cameroonian midfielder Modeste Mbami who opened the scoring for Paris Saint Germain as they beat Guingamp 2-0.

Yet there were less encouraging performances for the two Africans who were sent off.

Ivorian midfielder Serge Die was shown a red card for Metz in the first-half of their 2-0 defeat at home to Toulouse.

Senegalese midfielder Pape Bouba Diop was another to go as his side Lens managed to hold Bordeaux to a 0-0 draw.

Benni McCarthy of South Africa scored from the penalty spot for Porto in the last minute as the league leaders beat Vitoria Guimaraes 3-0.

Morocco's Nourdin Boukhari struck a late winner for NAC Breda as they beat ten-man Utrecht 2-1.

Rafael Nando scored for Hertha Berlin

Senegalese striker Mamadou Lamine Diabang scored the final goal for his side Bochum as they defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-1.

Angolan Nando Rafael struck a second-half equaliser for his side Hertha Berlin but they eventually went down 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Nigerian Victor Ikpeba scored for his new side Charleroi in their 2-0 defeat of Gent.

Guinean striker Sembegou Bangoura scored twice for Standard Liege as his side massacred Cercle Bruges 7-0.

And two Ivorians were on target for Beveren - with Romaric Ndri scoring twice after Moussa Sanogo had broken the deadlock in a 4-1 win over Heusden-Zolder.