Osimhen: Napoli star’s scoring run ends against Fiorentina

BetOdds African All Stars Fiorentina v Napoli Serie A Victor Osimhen Napoli Adam Ounas Fiorentina Kalidou Koulibaly André-Frank Zambo Anguissa Faouzi Ghoulam

Prior to the game against the Purples, the Nigerian striker had scored in his last five matches for the Parthenopeans

Victor Osimhen’s impressive goalscoring run for Napoli came to an end as the Parthenopeans secured a 2-1 comeback win against Fiorentina.Heading into Sunday’s Serie A outing, the Nigeria international had found the net in his last five games for Luciano Spalletti’s men in all competitions.

Still bitter about their 3-2 loss to Spartak Moscow in Thursday's Europa League fixture, Spalletti’s team travelled to Stadio Artemio Franchi with the desire to bouncing back to winning ways.

Nevertheless, it was the hosts who took a 28th-minute lead through Lucas Martinez Quarta. Benefitting from a smart work by Dusan Vlahovis, the Argentine curled his shot past goalkeeper David Ospina.Nine minutes later, Martinez Quarta turned from hero to villain after bringing down a goal-bound Osimhen with the box, prompting referee Simone Sozza to award a penalty to the visitors.

Lorenzo Insigne stepped up to take the ensuing kick, with Bartłomiej Drągowski producing a fine double save to deny the 30-year-old. But Hirving Lozano powered home a rebound to restore parity.

Three minutes before the half time break, Osimhen missed a golden opportunity to put his team ahead as his bicycle kick missed the target by a whisker.

Five minutes into the second half, Napoli took the lead as Piotr Zielinski lofted an accurate cross into the Fiorentina penalty area, for Amir Rrahmani to run onto and glance beyond a stretched Drągowski, denting the hosts’ slim chances of getting a result.

Despite a late rally by Vincenzo Italiano’s men, they were unable to score the needed goal as they crumbled to their third defeat of the ongoing season.

While Senegal’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Cameroon’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa were in action for Napoli from start to finish, Osimhen – who is expected to join Nigeria for their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against the Central African Republic - was replaced by Andrea Petagna eight minutes from full-time.

Only twice in their history have the Naples team won all seven of their opening Serie A matches.

Currently, they lead the log with 18 points and will continue their bid to win a third Italian elite division crown with a date versus Torino on October 17.

2021-10-03 23:00:02

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