Two Nigerian stars were in action at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as the Russian visitors secured maximum points in a dramatic encounter
Victor Osimhen came off the bench to score Napoli’s second goal in their 3-2 loss to Victor Moses’ Spartak Moscow in a Europa League match on Thursday.
The Super Eagles striker replaced Andrea Petagna immediately after half-time and he scored the consolation goal for the Serie A leaders in the 94th minute but it was not enough to save them from conceding their first loss of the season.
The stoppage-time effort was Osimhen’s seventh goal of the season in all competitions, and they have come in his last five outings for Luciano Spalletti’s team in September.
A fortnight ago, the former Lille star rescued Napoli in their opening Group C fixture with two second-half goals in their 2-2 draw against Leicester City.
However, Thursday’s encounter in Naples ended in a dramatic way with both teams reduced to 10 men.
Napoli left-back Mario Rui was first given his marching orders in the 30th minute and Spartak Moscow were on the receiving end towards the end as Maximiliano Caufriez received a second yellow card in the 82nd minute.
Moses, on the other hand, was impressive for the Russian Premier League club in midfield and he played the entire duration. The former Chelsea and Crystal Palace star completed two dribbles and he also won the most fouls (two) for Rui Vitoria’s side.
Aside from his attacking contribution, the retired Nigeria international also played a crucial role in defence with his three completed tackles – second-highest in the game and two clearances.
Other Africans in action were Senegal centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly who played from start to finish for Napoli while Cameroon’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Algeria’s Adam Ounas came off the bench for the hosts.
Napoli are still third in Group C with just a point after two games while Spartak Moscow moved to second with three points, behind leaders Legia Warsaw who have gathered six points from the same number of matches.
After Thursday’s loss, Osimhen and his teammates will be focused on maintaining their perfect start in Serie A when they visit Fiorentina on October 3 before the international break.
The 22-year-old is among the 23 players invited for Nigeria’s Fifa World Cup qualifying fixture against Central African Republic on October 7 and October 10.
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