Racing Santander needed just ninety minutes at El Sardinero to remind La Liga why Yassir Zabiri has become one of the most talked-about strikers of the young season. The Moroccan international scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Alavés, lifting his tally to five goals in only two home matches and moving him up to second place in the Spanish top flight’s scoring charts.
It was a result head coach José Alberto described as thoroughly deserved. « I think we put in a very complete performance. We got a deserved win against a strong, well-organized side, as they’ve shown in previous rounds, » he told reporters after the final whistle, praising an opponent that had troubled bigger clubs earlier in the campaign.
Rather than single out his in-form forward, the Spanish coach chose to frame the victory as a collective achievement. « The team is learning from its mistakes. Today we competed really well and read the game very well. I’m very pleased to see the players developing as a group, » José Alberto said, extending his praise to the entire squad rather than one individual.
Pressed specifically on Zabiri’s remarkable form, the coach struck a notably measured tone, mixing recognition with a pointed reminder. « Zabiri is enjoying a happy moment because of everything that’s happening around him, but he has to keep working, because I believe he can still give a lot more to the team, » he said, a comment that reads as both compliment and challenge.
The win marked Racing’s second league victory of the campaign, and, notably, both have come on home turf, largely on the back of Zabiri’s scoring exploits. Two matches, five goals: the kind of ratio that has already put Europe’s scouts on alert and turned the Cantabrian club’s home fixtures into must-watch events for followers of Moroccan football abroad.
For a player who arrived in Spain’s top flight with modest fanfare, the early weeks of the season have transformed Zabiri into one of La Liga’s most productive attackers, and, if his coach’s words are any indication, one whose ceiling is still far from reached.
