Valencia coach Carlos Corberan has praised Super Eagles striker Sadiq Umar following his goal that sealed their 2-1 win over Valladolid on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Los Ches continued their battle to stay alive in La Liga when they welcomed Valladolid to the Mestalla on Saturday. Super Eagles striker Sadiq, who has been in fine form recently, led the line for Valencia due to Hugo Duro's injury struggles.
The first half was goalless, as Juanmi Latasa equalised late in the first half after Diego Lopez scored the opener for Valencia in the 7th minute.
Then, 13 minutes into the second half, Sadiq rose to the occasion and produced a sublime finish to make it 2-1. That striker was just enough for Los Ches to seal the win.
The win took Valencia two places up to 16th with 27 points after 27 games. They are now one point above the relegation zone.
Following the result, Valencia coach Corberan expressed his satisfaction with Sadiq's performance. He also praised the Nigerian for his mentality.
“I have three great forwards because Sadiq is showing it. Hugo has shown it, but he is not available at the moment. The same goes for Rafa Mir. I have absolute and full confidence in the three forwards we have,” Corberan said.
“I think that Sadiq today exemplifies what the game was like. A game with mistakes at times. And with the mentality to recover from those situations that he had. A game of not losing faith, of assistance, until achieving the objective.
“I think there is a parallel between what Sadiq did today during the game and what the team did.”
Sadiq Umar, Duro, and Corberan's headache
Following Sadiq's newly found form, coach Corberan could have a big headache once Duro is fully fit. Duro is the first-choice striker at Valencia, but Sadiq is now staking a claim on that position.
Benching Sadiq now would be dropping his momentum, and that could be detrimental for the player. It could also be detrimental for Valencia as Duro has not exactly been a prolific goalscorer for them and could still struggle to produce goals. But if Corberan benches Duro, the striker could become unhappy, and that could affect the dressing room.
Corberan has a big decision to make in the coming days, but Sadiq will hope that it favours them.
