The Nigeria striker wasted little time to show his quality as he found the target 10 minutes after coming on to endear himself to the club’s fans
Umar Sadiq wasted little time to endear himself to the Real Sociedad fans as he scored on his debut to help La Real came from behind to draw 1-1 with Atletico Madrid in a La Liga clash on Saturday.
The Nigeria striker joined the Basque side on transfer deadline day from Almeria, penning a five-year deal reported to be worth a guaranteed €20 million with another potential €5 million in add-ons.
Having started on the bench, Sadiq was introduced at the beginning of the second half and he took little time to start repaying the fee, scoring the equaliser in the 55th minute after Sociedad had conceded a fifth-minute goal from Alvaro Morata.
With the home side pushing for the leveller, Mohamed-Ali Cho whipped in a great cross, with Sadiq jumping highest to connect with it before planting his close-range header into the right side of the goal.
La Real had lacked a focal point before Sadiq’s introduction with the industry of David Silva in midfield failing to bear fruit as Cho and Alexander Sorloth, who started upfront, were unable to utilise the chances he created.
Sadiq created problems for the Atletico defence with his movement, physicality and height while his ability to drop deeper allowed his teammates to get more space in the box in the second half of the contest.
Sadiq thought then he had won it for Sociedad when he dinked over Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak after being teed up in the box 14 minutes from time, but he was flagged offside.
The Nigerian looks like he is going to be a crowd favourite given the fans had been singing his name while calling for his introduction in the first half, and there were wild cheers when he came on.
Sadiq has now scored three goals in the Spanish top flight, having netted two for Almeria before moving to the Basque country, including last weekend’s winner as the Andalusians beat Sevilla 2-1.
Sociedad brought in Sadiq to reinforce their attack following the departure of Swedish striker Alexander Isak to Premier League outfit Newcastle United for a club record €70 million last week.
The striker was highly sought-after, having scored 43 goals in 84 matches, including 19 in all competitions (18 in the league) last season, helping Almeria to La Liga promotion for the first time in seven years.
From goal.com