Sadiq ends seven-game drought in Valencia draw

Umar Sadiq ended his seven-game goal drought on Tuesday night as Valencia drew 1-1 with Mallorca at the Estadi de Son Moix, in a result that does little to ease either side’s relegation concerns in La Liga, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Nigerian striker struck in the second half to rescue a point for Los Che, marking his first goal since February 15, when he scored in a 2-0 win over Levante.

Since then, he had gone blank in successive league matches against Villarreal, Osasuna, Alavés, Real Oviedo, Sevilla, Celta Vigo and Elche.

Although he failed to score in those outings, Sadiq still contributed with assists against Celta Vigo and Elche, both of which helped Valencia secure 3-2 victories.

Tuesday’s equaliser also represented his second league goal of the season in 19 appearances across spells at Real Sociedad and Valencia, taking his overall tally to five goals, including three in the Copa del Rey.

He will now hope to build momentum when Valencia host Girona on Saturday, with the chance to score in back-to-back matches for the first time since March 2025.

Sadiq played the full 90 minutes in Palma, registering one goal from an expected goals return of 0.48.

He managed two shots on target from his two attempts, with an expected goals on target of 0.66.

The forward completed 12 of 16 passes at 75 per cent accuracy, while also winning one of 12 ground duels and one of three aerial contests.

He recorded four successful dribbles from one attempt, lost possession 13 times, and contributed defensively with one tackle won.

Sadiq also made one key pass and was involved in 33 touches overall, including 20.1 metres of total progression and a longest progressive carry of 12.5 metres.

The match itself saw Mallorca take control early, with Vedat Muriqi and Sergi Darder both threatening before Samú Costa put the hosts ahead just after the restart.

Valencia, who had failed to register a shot on target in the first half, improved after the break and eventually levelled through Sadiq, who timed his run to perfection to convert Javi Guerra’s flick from a Luis Rioja cross.

Neither side found a winner in the closing stages, with the draw leaving Valencia 13th, having won just once in their last five matches.