Akor Adams has been called “phenomenal” by Sevilla head coach Luis Garcia Plaza after the Super Eagles striker scored the winning goal in a remarkable 3-2 comeback victory over Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Wednesday, Footynaija.com reports.
The strike made him the first Nigerian player in twelve years to reach double figures in Spain’s top flight, joining an exclusive list that includes Finidi George and Ikechukwu Uche, the last Nigerian to achieve the feat with 14 goals for Villarreal in the 2013-14 season.
The game looked anything but historic at the 20-minute mark. Gerard Moreno opened the scoring for Villarreal after 13 minutes, rolling the ball into the bottom corner after getting clear of two defenders.
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Seven minutes later, Nicolas Pepe threaded the ball through to Alberto Moleiro at the byline, who cut it back for Georges Mikautadze to tap home at the back post. Two goals down and rattled, Sevilla needed something to believe in.
Oso provided it in the 36th minute, pulling one back to give the travelling fans a foothold, and Kike Salas headed home an equaliser in stoppage time to send both sides into the break level at 2-2.
‘Akor again is phenomenal’
The winner came with 18 minutes remaining. Alexis Sanchez broke up a Villarreal attack moments after coming on, and Juanlu Sanchez and Djibril Sow worked the ball across the area to Adams, who rifled it past Tenas at the near post.
It was his fourth match-winning goal of the season, having previously settled games against Rayo Vallecano, Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol.
Garcia Plaza was not subtle in his admiration at the post-match press conference.
“Akor, now Akor again, is phenomenal,” the Sevilla coach said.
He also pointed to the significance of Adams’ first-half contribution, explaining that Oso’s goal to make it 2-1 was the moment that changed the complexion of the game.
“I think Oso’s goal made everyone believe we could hurt them in attack,” Garcia said. “That’s when we saw that we could really hurt them, and from then on, the team kept going.”
The result lifted Sevilla to tenth in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone with two games remaining. Real Madrid visit next Sunday, a fixture that could confirm their top-flight status if results elsewhere go their way.
For Adams, the numbers tell their own story. Twelve years after Uche last achieved the feat, Nigeria again has a double-digit scorer in La Liga, and Sevilla may owe their top-flight status to him.
