AFCON was tough
The just concluded African cup of Nation must have been hard the Nigerian and Napoli striker Victor Osihmen. The 24 year old striker has been in a different light and is in incredible form since returning to Napoli after a difficult moment in Ivory Coast, which have caused some fans to reason if AFCON was much more difficult for the young striker.
Victor Osimhen scored three goals in 16 minutes as Napoli thrashed Sassuolo 6-1 in a Serie A match on Wednesday. It was his second hat-trick against the same team since he joined Napoli in 2020. He also set up a goal for Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, who netted twice, as Napoli’s new coach Francesco Calzona got his first victory in his third game.
Osimhen has now scored five goals in three games for Napoli after coming back from the Africa Cup of Nations and 13 goals in all competitions this season.
Sassuolo took an early lead in the 17th minute through Uros Racic’s superb strike from outside the box, but Napoli equalized in the 29th minute with Amir Rrahmani’s goal after a good move involving Di Lorenzo and Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa on the right wing.
Osimhen put Napoli ahead in the 31st minute with a close-range finish from Matteo Politano’s pass.
Victor Osimhen took advantage of a mistake from the keeper Andrea Consigli to score his second goal of the match from close range. He made it three goals in 16 minutes right after the break, as Sassuolo’s defence gifted him the ball. Ruan Tressoldi passed it to Kvaratskhelia, who set up Osimhen for an easy finish.
Osimhen joined the late Diego Maradona (between 1984/85 and 1987/88) and Attila Sallustro (between 1929/30 and 1932/33) as the only players in Napoli’s history to score 10 or more goals in four straight Serie A seasons, as per Opta.
Osimhen has now netted 72 goals in 122 games for Napoli and he is level with Paulo Dybala in fourth place in the Serie A top scorers chart with 11 goals from 15 games.
The win keeps Napoli in ninth position but they are only eight points behind the top four.
Victor Osihmen only managed a goal in the just concluded that was held at Ivory Coast, byt the striker has found the back of the net several times since returning to Italy which clearly shows that AFCON competition is a tough competition and can also be compared to other competions like the Copa America and EUROS.
