After being pressurized to come out of international wilderness, Ighalo shows predatory instinct

There was much to admire about Al Shabab's all-round performance in the Saudi Arabian Professional League game as they gradually gained the upper hand at Prince Khalid bin Sultan Stadium, Riyadh on Thursday.

It was no surprise that Al Shabab raced in front through Carlos Alberto Carvalho da Silva Júnior after three minutes.

Ighalo has been a catalyst at Al Shabab, the former Watford man has been catching the eye with his running, positional play and excellent finishing.

The art of great finishing was also on show from Ighalo, rifling home his ninth goal of the season.

He has been pressurized to come out of international retirement as Nigeria seeks to perform at Africa Cup of Nations and qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

It was time for Ighalo to make his mark and show that he remains the main man at Al Shabab.

He popped up with the second goal from Ever Banega's assist in the 23rd minute. Hussain Al Monassar completed the rout for the hosts two minutes after the hour mark.

In a game played at a frantic pace, Ighalo once again impressed, and White Lion created numerous chances.

The fact of the matter is, Ighalo's performance levels haven't dropped one bit since he retired from the Nigeria squad.

Some will argue that Ighalo plays for one of the best teams in Saudi Arabia and so he's bound to rack up decent figures, though it's him who makes them tick a lot of the time, with his high octane pressing and ridiculous work-rate helping to keep Al Shabab on the front foot.

The striker is one player that Gernot Rohr doesn't joke with. Ighalo is fully trusted by the Franco-German and he delivered when it mattered most. 

One of such assignments was the 2019 AFCON. The forward retired after the tournament, but Rohr hasn't hidden his admiration for him. Maybe he might rescind his decision and return to the Super Eagles squad.

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Ademetan Abayomi has always dreamt of being a sports journalist. His journey began 11 years ago when he created my first sports news page on Facebook, called "Futball Galore" and from there on his passion for sports journalism grew stronger. Now, he is a Sports News Reporter and Feature Writer where he strives to add value and learn as much as he can.

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