Umar Sadiq‘s big night at Mestalla ended in disappointment as Valencia were beaten 3-0 by Real Madrid on Saturday, with the Nigerian striker withdrawn after 59 minutes of a one-sided La Liga contest.
The Valencia 0-3 Real Madrid result leaves the hosts second-bottom of the table, while Jose Mourinho’s side move level on points with leaders Barcelona. Federico Valverde, Arda Guler and Kylian Mbappe all scored as Madrid recorded an eighth straight win in all competitions.
Valencia 0-3 Real Madrid: Valverde and Guler strike before the break
Valencia had started the night with hope. Sadiq was handed a start alongside Arnaut Danjuma in a 5-3-2, fresh from scoring the winner against Elche last weekend, and his manager Javier Aguirre had called him a “special player” in the build-up.
But the gulf in class told quickly. Valverde broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, reacting fastest after Mbappe’s free-kick hit the wall and firing a fierce low shot into the corner from the edge of the box.
Eight minutes later it was 2-0. Jude Bellingham broke down the left and drove a cross into the box, and after Cesar Tarrega’s touch sent the ball up into the air, Guler was left completely unmarked to tap home.
Sadiq’s best moment came when he tried to burst into the penalty area, only for Ibrahima Konate to produce a well-timed challenge to stop him. It was a rare sight of goal for a Valencia side that managed just 0.16 expected goals all night.
Mbappe seals it as Gaya sees red
Valencia briefly hoped the second half would bring a response, but Guler squandered a golden chance to make it three in the 55th minute when he tried to round goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and lost the ball.
Sadiq’s night ended in the 59th minute when Aguirre replaced him with Aimar Blazquez, and sixteen minutes later the game was beyond Valencia. Guler turned provider, releasing Mbappe inside the box, and the Frenchman got in front of his marker, cut outside and fired into the net for his seventh goal in as many games.
The misery was complete four minutes later when Valencia captain Jose Gaya was sent off for a fierce tackle on Mbappe, leaving the hosts to play out the final stretch with ten men.
What the defeat means for Sadiq and the Super Eagles
For Sadiq, the night was a reminder of how far Valencia still have to travel. The striker has worked hard to rebuild his season after a hamstring injury kept him out for nearly two months, and his winner against Elche last weekend was only his second league goal of the campaign.
The timing is awkward from a Nigerian point of view. Head coach Eric Chelle named his 24-man Super Eagles squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Tanzania earlier on Saturday, and Sadiq was not in it, with Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon, Akor Adams, Tolu Arokodare, Moses Usor and Taiwo Awoniyi preferred in attack.
With Nigeria hosting Tanzania in Uyo on Friday, 13 November, Sadiq will know that regular goals at club level are now his only route back into Chelle’s plans. Nights like this one, against the biggest club in Spain, were supposed to be his shop window.
He was one of five Super Eagles stars facing big weekend tests abroad, and the evening had begun with such promise after Aguirre’s praise. Instead, the build-up to the game promised far more than the 90 minutes delivered.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, march on. They now have 30 points, behind Barcelona only on goal difference having played one game more, and with Barcelona visiting Atletico Madrid on Sunday, Mourinho’s side have put real pressure on the champions.
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Photo: Rovena Rosa / Agência Brasil (CC BY 3.0 BR) — collage by SportsBuddy.
