Hugo Duro has found a reliable partner in Umar Sadiq. The Nigerian striker’s goal not only secured three vital points for Valencia’s survival fight but also overshadowed Duro’s earlier penalty miss, when he hit the crossbar in the first half. That’s why the Getafe-born forward shared a photo on social media of himself embracing Sadiq in the San Mamés dressing room.
“He saved me,” Hugo Duro commented, adding a clear warning for the future: “Ambition, and this isn’t over yet.” The latter phrase carries a double meaning. On one hand, as Carlos Corberán noted in his press conference, survival calculations suggest that 43 points may be needed (Valencia reached 42 after the win in Bilbao). But with La Liga so unpredictable, the nine points still up for grabs are a world of possibilities.
Valencia arrived at San Mamés just two points above the relegation zone. Following their victory and Getafe’s draw in Oviedo, they now sit five points clear of the drop and three points behind seventh-placed Getafe (against whom they hold the head-to-head advantage). That’s why Hugo Duro’s message of “Ambition, and this isn’t over yet” can be interpreted in two ways.
