It was a mixed bag of emotions for Super Eagles forward Umar Sadiq, who both scored an own goal and found the net at the right end as Valencia faced Athletic Club in their Copa del Rey quarter-final clash on Wednesday evening.

The 29-year-old inadvertently handed the visitors the opening goal before redeeming himself with the equaliser that hauled the hosts back into the contest, Footballrover reports.

Umar Sadiq responds with redemption for Valencia

Despite his efforts, the game ended 2–1 in favour of Athletic Club at the Estadio de Mestalla.

The Super Eagles forward, who has just 12 caps for the national team, took his goal tally for the club to two after scoring in his second outing in a 2–0 victory over Burgos CF in the Copa del Rey round of 16.

However, he was only on the pitch for 59 minutes before being replaced by Hugo Duro.

Barely 26 minutes into the game, Umar handed the visitors the lead in unfortunate fashion, diverting a whipped free kick into his own net.

Sadiq responds with redemption for Valencia

Nine minutes later, Sadiq made amends at the other end for Valencia. A costly error from Athletic Club goalkeeper Alex Padilla, who spilled the ball at his feet, gifted the Nigerian striker the chance, and he made no mistake by slotting home to restore parity at 1–1.

Umar Sadiq thus became the first player in La Liga to score both a goal and an own goal in a Copa del Rey match since Verza did so for Almería against Getafe in January 2015.

The Nigerian international did not celebrate his goal, instead raising his hand to apologise to the fans for his earlier mistake.

With 75 minutes on the clock, Mikel Jauregizar missed a golden opportunity to put Athletic Club ahead.

After being awarded a penalty, he sent the spot kick towards the bottom left corner, but it lacked the power and precision to beat Stole Dimitrievski, who made a comfortable save.

Then came the moment of magic, six minutes into added time. Iñaki Williams produced a stunning finish to seal a semi-final spot for the visitors.

He latched onto an inch-perfect cross into the box and drilled a low shot into the bottom left corner — a goal that defied superlatives.

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Last Updated on February 5, 2026 1:46 am by footballrover