Victor Osimhen scored an 80th minute match-winner as Napoli earned their 11th consecutive victory in all competitions. With the 0-1 victory at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the Partenopei remained three points clear of AC Milan at the top of the Serie A table. Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
Stepping Up
Though Napoli have been at or near the top of the table all season, Milan have been hot on their tails and, heading into this round, Milan had the more difficult schedule. However, with this win, Napoli demonstrated that they are not at the top of the table solely because they’ve had a favourable schedule. The Azzurri are the only team in Serie A with a perfect record against the sette sorrelle, with wins against Lazio, Milan and Roma, all of which were played away from home.
Victor is World Class
Victor Osimhen scored his third goal in three matches since returning from a muscle injury that kept him out for a month. It was his first start after substitute appearances against Ajax and Bologna. The goal, which proved to be the match winner, came about ten minutes after Osimhen missed Napoli’s best chance of the match.
However, the Nigerian persevered and, in the 80th minute, got the better of Chris Smalling, who was Roma’s best player on the night. Smalling’s ability to defend was limited given the Roma central defender was already on a yellow card (drawn by Osimhen in the first half). Nevertheless, the strike from Osimhen was simply world class. According to the xG, that shot finds the back of the goal only once every 20 attempts.
Osimhen also demonstrated his world in the defensive phase, making two headed clearances in the Napoli area. Roma are most dangerous on set pieces, and Osimhen, along with Kim Min-jae and Mathias Olivera, were dominant in the air.
Play the Kids
In the 75th minute, Luciano Spalletti made two changes. One was fairly standard, replacing Hirving Lozano with Matteo Politano. The other – replacing Piotr Zielinski with Gianluca Gaetano – shocked everyone. With Napoli needing a goal, most were expecting Giacomo Raspadori to make an appearance, after the forward spent most of the second half warming up. However, the 22-year-old held his own. Amongst other things, he was involved in the buildup to the only goal of the match.
It wasn’t the first time that Spalletti has shown confidence in his younger talent. Earlier this season, Spalletti replaced an injured Matteo Politano with Alessio Zerbin with Napoli up 0-1 against AC Milan at the Stadio San Siro. Though it wasn’t a great performance from Zerbin, who was largely at fault for Milan’s equalizer, these experiences for Gaetano and Zerbin, in big moments of important matches, are invaluable.
