Nigeria: Serie A - Osimhen Scores As Napoli Return to Winning Ways

Screengrab/YouTube/Bedsy
Napoli has said they never meant to offend Victor Osimhen after the striker's agent threatened legal action over a video the club posted on Tik Tok, mocking him for missing a penalty.
27 September 2023
Premium Times (Abuja)
By Tunde Eludini

With just a paltry two points from their last three Serie A matches, Napoli needed victory badly in Wednesday's outing.

After going four games without finding the back of the net, Victor Osimhen got back his groove on Wednesday; scoring one of the goals that ensured Napoli returned to winning ways in style.

The Naples-based club romped to a 4-1 demolition of Udinese in their Serie A clash at the Diego Maradona Stadium.

With just a paltry two points from their last three Serie A matches, Napoli needed victory badly in Wednesday's outing but the perceived crack in the team was a source of worry for many.

From the shouting match between Osimhen and coach Rudi Gracia to the TikTok incident that got as bad as threats of legal action being made, it wasn't really looking good for Napoli ahead of their midweek clash.

But in the manner of a characteristic champion, Napoli put their baggage behind them and produced a masterclass performance against Udinese.

The game

The opening goal for Napoli came in the 18th from the penalty spot.

The referee initially waved play on when Kvicha Kvaratskhelia went down in the box after a challenge from Festy Ebosele but was forced to change his mind after a VAR review.

Zielinski was the one who stepped up to take the penalty rather than Osimhen and he made no mistake as he stroked the ball into the near bottom corner, sending Marco Silvestri the wrong way.

Osimhen's moment came in the 40th minute after, meeting a magnificent flicked no-look Matteo Politano pass to take a touch and beat the on-rushing Silvestri.

The Nigerian ran to the touchline to hug Jesper Lindstrom but ignored coach Rudi Garcia.

Osimhen's goal according to Opta made him only the third Napoli player to score against the same opponent in five consecutive games.

Before now, only Mertens (vs. Bologna and Cagliari) and Higuaín (vs. Lazio) had scored in 5+ matches in a row for Napoli against a single opponent in Serie A in the era of three points for a win.

Napoli took the two-goal lead to the half-time break and when they returned for the second half, they sought to continue from where they stopped.

Kvaratskhelia extended their lead to 3-0 in the 74th minute before Udinese pulled one back in the 80th minute. Almost immediately, Simeone restored Napoli's three-goal cushion as he made it 4-1 for the hosts.

Now on 11 points, Napoli are fifth on the log in the Serie A.

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