Ricardo Pepi scores again, Groningen loses again

Imagine Groningen without Pepi

The contrast between Ricardo Pepi and Groningen in the Eredivisie couldn’t be more stark.

Pepi scored his seventh goal in his last 10 matches between club play and the U.S. men’s national team. The goal is his 11th in the league this season, and when you add in his three assists, he’s made a direct contribution to 50% of Groningen’s 28 goals.

It’s just that Groningen is in freefall as a club, squandering Pepi’s goal as Michiel Kramer’s 86th minute penalty gave RKC Waalwijk a 2-1 win on Saturday.

The defeat marked Groningen’s sixth straight Eredivisie loss, and the club is on a horrid 1W-3D-14L run. With just five games left to play and eight points between them and a promotion-relegation playoff spot, relegation seems certain.

Pepi, who is on a season-long loan, has been doing whatever he can to stave off the inevitable. His productivity on an otherwise doomed team, combined with his eagerness to avoid returning to Augsburg, should make him a hot commodity in this summer’s transfer market.

On Saturday, Pepi maintained his good form with another goal. After initially keeping a play alive by ensuring the ball didn’t run out of play, Pepi passed backwards as Groningen — who had fallen behind just seconds earlier — tried to find an opening in the massed RKC defense.

With the home side standing off, Groningen had time to get men forward, and left back Nordin Musampa pushed up into a more dangerous spot. With time and space, he curled a pinpoint cross in for Pepi, who had ghosted away from his markers to get wide open at the back post.

Watch Pepi strike again

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