Osimhen in action as Napoli extend winning run against Roma

The Nigeria international made a second-half appearance for Gennaro Gattuso’s men against the Yellow and Reds

Victor Osimhen featured as Napoli secured a 2-0 victory over AS Roma in Sunday’s Serie A game at Stadio Olimpico.

The 22-year-old made his 13th league appearance in the encounter as a second-half substitute and gave a good account of himself, helping his side to extend their unbeaten run this season.

The forward’s teammate and Senegal international Kalidou Koulibaly also featured prominently to ensure Gennaro Gattuso’s men kept a clean sheet.

Napoli dominated the first half of the encounter and were rewarded for the impressive performances as Dries Mertens opened the scoring in the 27th minute.

The Belgian forward then doubled the Parthenopeans’ lead in the 34th minute after receiving a sumptuous assist from Matteo Politano.

Guinea international Amadou Diawara made his fourth start for Roma and was cautioned in the 59th minute while Koulibaly was also booked in the 78th minute.

Roma made frantic efforts in the second half to try and avoid defeat but Napoli held on to their lead to secure all three points and extend their winning run to three games.

Osimhen was introduced into the game in the 66th minute, replacing two-goal hero Mertens and had 15 touches on the ball as part of his contribution for his side.

The centre-forward was cautioned moments before the end of the game while his teammate Koulibaly featured for the duration of the game.

The victory moved Napoli to the fifth spot on the Serie A table after gathering 53 points from 27 games and will hope to continue their impressive run of form when they take on Simy Nwankwo’s Crotone on April 3.

Osimhen only recently returned from a head trauma he suffered against Atalanta in a league game in February and bagged a goal on his comeback against Bologna.

The attacker has only featured in 19 games across all competitions since his summer move from Lille due to injury, suspension and Coronavirus-related problems.

Osimhen is part of the Nigeria squad for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Republic of Benin and Lesotho slated for March 27 and 30 respectively.

The forward has five goals in 10 appearances for the three-time African champions and has been playing a key role for the West African side since the abrupt retirement of Odion Ighalo.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*