Rasheedat Ajibade scores first Atletico Madrid goal against Valencia

Rasheedat Ajibade scored her first goal for Atletico Madrid in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over Valencia in a Spanish Primera Iberdrola encounter.

Since joining Atletico on a two-year deal from Norwegian Toppserien side Avaldsnes on January 1, 2021, Ajibade has failed to find the net, although she only played as a substitute in all five games.

The Nigeria international was handed her sixth appearance as a substitute again, and she went on to mark her presence on the pitch, with her first goal in Spanish football.

At Centro Deportivo Wanda, the hosts made a false start to the encounter as Iina Salmi played Candela Andujar through to hand the visitors a shock lead after 22 minutes of action.

Atletico, however, bounced back into the mix when Amanda Sampedro set up Ludmila to level eight minutes later before the duo combined well to gain the lead on the brink of half time.

After the restart, the hosts continued to preserve their narrow lead until Maria Jimenez gifted them a third of the match four minutes after Ajibade was brought on for Ajara Nchout in the 75th minute.

Eight minutes from full time, Sampedro grabbed her hat-trick of assists when she teed up the Nigerian to score her maiden Atletico goal to guarantee her side's return to winning ways, at home.

The result moves Atletico to fourth with 38 points from 20 matches - 10 behind leaders Barcelona, who still have four matches in hand.

Nigeria's Ajibade featured for the final 15 minutes of the contest and has now scored one goal in six appearances for Atletico, while Cameroon's Nchout was in action for the opening 75 minutes.

After the international break, the former champions will aim to continue with their winning form when they confront Real Betis on March 7.