Real Sociedad manager Sergio Francisco has hailed Umar Sadiq following his impressive display in the club’s 2-0 win over lower-league side Reus FC in the Copa Del Rey on Wednesday, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles forward entered the fray at the start of the second half and immediately turned the game around, inspiring his side to victory.
The 28-year-old who was included in Nigeria’s preliminary squad for the 2025 African Cup of Nations, assisted the opening goal and netted a late penalty lick to give his side a 2-0 win.
It was his sixth appearance of the season as he continues his way to redemption at a club he joined in 2022.
Sadiq suffered an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament injury few days after making his debut for the club, which has affected his time at the club so far.
The Nigerian forward will hope for more of Wednesday’s performance as he eyes a return to top form.
Sodiq inspires Sociedad to victory
Real Sociedad headed into the clash as overwhelming favorites to progress to the next round due to the gulf in quality between both sides.
However, they struggled in the first half and could not get past a resilient defensive shift by the home side.
Sadiq came on at the interval and took only four minutes to make an impact as he laid down the ball with an header for Goti Lopez to open the scoring.
The Nigerian forward was then fouled inside the box in stoppage time and he confidently dispatched the spot-kick for a 2-0 win.
Real Sociedad advance to the third round after their latest win, which was their fifth victory in their last seven outings in all competitions.
Francisco hails Sadiq’s impact
Speaking after the win, manager Sergio Francisco hailed the Super Eagles striker’s impact which turned the game in the club’s favor.
“Sadiq is Sadiq, whenever he comes on to play in recent matches he brings something to the table”, he revealed.
“And today he brought strength, the ability to challenge, the ability to put a player in the back line who wins balls for us, who flicks them on, who always threatens the opponent, who if we get down the wings and attack the area can be a decisive player, and he was also the one who got the penalty that gave us peace of mind.”
On the first half of the win
“It was hard for us to catch the second move. It was a game of catching the ball and being as far away from the goal as possible”, the manager added.
“Nor did the field help a very long management of passes; we had to do the simplest things to put the ball in the rival field, and it cost us both in terms of duels and second play. I think the rival has been better and we have shot quality to take the game.”
Sadiq will hope for more impressive displays and perhaps a shout at Eric Chelle’s squad to represent Nigeria at the African Cup of Nations this month.
