When Umar Sadiq raced into the area and bundled the ball home to give Almería a 2-1 lead over Sevilla, a few onlookers might have suspected that to be the Nigerian’s final goal in a red-and-white shirt.
34 days, and 394 goalless minutes of football later, though, and a few might have been wondering if that was the last goal that anybody would score in that shirt.
Almería’s talisman had left the club, joined Real Sociedad, scored in San Sebastián, and been ruled out for the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury before his former side had managed a goal in his absence. Four games, four defeats, and an average expected goals figure of 0.35 per game, things were looking bleak for a newly-promoted side who had just lost their most potent attacking weapon.
Things dramatically changed, however, with a change in personnel. For the visit of Rayo Vallecano, arrived all three marquee summer signings at once.
First, Adrián Embarba, poached from Espanyol, lined up on the left. Aged 30, with 140 LaLiga appearances to his name before joining the club, the fleet-footed winger brings a wealth of experience to a largely unexperienced squad. Famed for his prodigious right foot, and his eye for the spectacular, the nippy winger’s shot-heavy positivity seemed exactly what a blunt offensive outfit needed.
Further back, the similarly experienced Gonzalo Melero came into midfield, after leaving Levante in the summer after three impressive seasons. The ultimate ‘llegador’, the arriver from deep, the midfielder scored 14 goals across the last two seasons in Valencia, underlining his efficiency from the middle of the park.
And finally, up front, El Bilal Toure. Signed from French side Reims, the Malian forward is strong, tenacious and smooth on the ball. At 21 years of age, and with huge shoes to fit into, the pressure was on for an immediate impact.
39 minutes in to their first start together, and Rayo Vallecano were 3-0 down.
Against Girona, just 12 days later, it would take Rubi’s side just 38 minutes to score three, as Embarba sent a forty-yard freekick dipping and curling towards, and into Juan Carlos’ goal. Toure had just scored his third goal in three moments before, capitalising on a defensive mistake that his persistence prompted, while Melero was running the midfield yet again, with assists in the previous two games already to his name.
This weekend, while the game at Villarreal was ultimately snatched away with a 94th-minute winner, the trio were central once more, as Toure provided a wonderfully weighted assist for Melero, who cut inside and finished confidently. Embarba, given some time off after three games in seven days, came off the bench to sting the hands of Geronimo Rullitwice, looking lively and threatening as always.
For a situation that looked so dire just weeks ago, credit must be given to an Almería side who have shown character, and intelligence, to deal with a devastating blow. Whether their mini-revolution will sustain their LaLiga status, is just another exciting narrative for the lucky neutral to follow.