Nigeria-eligible Edna Imade’s strike guarantees Granada’s Spanish topflight status

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Nigerian-born Spanish forward Edna Imade scored a crucial goal to propel Granada to a 2-0 win against Eibar, ensuring the team escaped relegation on the final matchday of the 2023/2024 Spanish women’s top flight season.

Granada’s victory was sealed by two first-half headers from Nigeria-eligible Imade and Laura Requena on Saturday.

Imade opened the scoring in the sixth minute, heading home from a Laura Perez corner kick and Alba Perez’s cross was met by Requena, who headed in the second goal in the 27th minute.

The Former Cacereno star nearly extended the lead before halftime, but her header was saved by the Eibar goalkeeper. The second half continued to be characterized by headers, with Imade sending a free-kick attempt over the bar.

Imade’s goal against Eibar was her fifth of the season, scored in her 28th league appearance for Granada.

Granada’s victory secured their place in the league, as Atletico Madrid’s 1-0 win over Villarreal resulted in Villarreal’s relegation to the Spanish women’s second-tier league. Granada finished the season in 14th place with 27 points, narrowly avoiding relegation by two points ahead of Villarreal and Joy Bokiri’s already relegated Huelva.