Valencia are desperately short of goals in 2023, but just as the relegation battle comes to a head, Samuel Lino has stepped up his production.
As pointed out by Superdeporte, Lino has found goalscoring form at just the right time, with three goals in his last four appearances. That run started against Elche with the opener, before two highly opportunistic goals, robbing goalkeeper Conan Ledesma to slot home against Cadiz, before grabbing the equaliser against Villarreal last week. There he pounced onto a loose ball, rounding Pepe Reina, and then nutmegging a defender on the line, showing consummate composure in both cases.
Without those goals, Los Che could well be four points worse off and sat 19th, four from safety. The Valencian paper also point out that Lino could be providing more, and has been far from a shining light of late, with just one assist all season.
Even so, Valencia cannot afford to be picky, and with Edinson Cavani and Hugo Duro not scoring, Lino’s clinical touch has been crucial for Ruben Baraja of late.
At the beginning of the season, the on-loan Atletico Madrid winger impressed early on, but like Valencia, has struggled to show the same verve in 2023. For the final five games, it will be about effectiveness rather than style at Mestalla though.
