‘Did what he had to do’: Leeds loanee silences critics with two-goal heroics

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Patrick Bamford knows a thing or two about confounding expectations.

Just a few months ago Leeds United’s number nine was pinned under the glare of the spotlight, with some fans questioning whether he was capable of stepping up on to the Premier League stage.

But with eight goals and three assists in 12 top-flight appearances since, those questions have been emphatically answered by a striker now being tipped to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of the European Championships.

And Bamford would have been proud of the way Rafa Mujica silenced his critics last night.

The 21-year-old striker is on loan at Real Oviedo from Elland Road but, according to El Desmarque, the Segunda outfit were considering ripping up his season-long contract in January.

Mujica, the report claimed, had failed to win over Oviedo coach Jose Angel Ziganda and would therefore return to Yorkshire ahead of schedule.

But, on Tuesday night, the one-time Barcelona youngster took a leaf out of Bamford’s book.

After nine successive games on the bench, Mujica returned to the starting XI and opened his account for the sleeping Spanish giants during their 3-2 Copa del Rey victory over CD Coria.

Half an hour later, he doubled his tally with a 77th minute winner, firing Oviedo into the second round.

“Mujica did what he had to do, take advantage of his opportunity,” former Athletic Bilbao coach Ziganda tells La Nueva Espana.

“The competition for the position is very tough for all the players that make up the team.”

With the transfer window just two weeks away, Mujica could hardly have picked a better time to finally showcase his predatory instincts to a club sitting just three points adrift of the play-off places.