3-1:… Seven in a row with superb comeback win!
UD Almería have 40 points after beating Real Valladolid CF with goals courtesy of Ramazani, Akieme and Portillo
UD Almería won their seventh straight game over Real Valladolid CF through a superb comeback win with three second-half goals. The visitors went ahead early through an own goal and parked the bus to keep their lead first and because after half an hour they were down to 10 men following a dangerous challenge by opponent Óscar Plano on Chumi which was reviewed in the VAR. As a result, after the restart, the great goals scored by Ramazani - who returned to the starting XI after his injury and gave a fantastic output - Akieme and Portillo sealed a superb comeback victory to get 40 points.
The match did not start in the best way for UD Almería, since with 6 minutes gone, skipper César de la Hoz’s own goal gave the Pucelanos the lead (0-1). However, Rubi's side tried to equalise as soon as possible, yet goalie Roberto denied Arnau Puigmal’s fine attempt.
The hosts demonstrated it by their way of performing on the pitch to exploit the spaces in front of rivals who opted to sit back despite their advantage. Óscar Plano was sent off with a straight red card on 36 minutes after observing his hard tackle on Chumi in the VAR, causing Real Valladolid to park the bus in a bid to continue ahead at the break.
Everything changed after the restart. Rubi made some substitutions with Portillo and Ramazani coming on. Both players contributed to the UD Almería attacking creating more and more danger up front, but the Belgian player was especially decisive as his unstoppable thunderbolt from the final third beat the man between the sticks. What's more, Ramazani was on fire after shaking off his injury since shortly after his leveller (1-1), he was about to find the back of the net again, this time forcing the visitor goalie to make a spectacular save.
In general, the subs did their bit for the achievement of the comeback. After the half-time changes took effect, Dyego Sousa and Akieme entered the field 66 minutes in. The latter only needed two minutes to shine following a strike from long distance that broke the deadlock. It was undeniably one of the goals of the night! (2-1).
When the Rojiblancos put themselves in front, they put full focus and showed burning ambition. Cheered on by their thrilled supporters, UD Almeria continued to put in a commanding display in the second period. Portillo earned his name onto the scoresheet thanks to fellow Dyego Sousa’s well-timed assist to seal a great comeback win in the last minutes (3-1).
...this is the seventh victory in a row for UD Almería with a spectacular comeback and a total of 40 points atop the LaLiga SmartBank table.