Napoli coach hails ‘excellent striker’ Osimhen

Napoli coach, Luciano Spalletti, has labelled Victor Osimhen an ‘excellent striker’ following the Nigerian striker’s historic goals against Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League.

Osimhen scored two goals to help Napoli defeat Eintracht 3-0 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Wednesday night and book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Partenopei had won the first leg 2-0 in Frankfurt and completed the job in Naples with Osimhen scoring twice including a towering header on Matteo Politano’s cross before Piotr Zielinski won and converted a penalty for a 5-0 aggregate result.

It is the first time the Serie A club will reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League while having also opened the scoring in Frankfurt, Osimhen became the first Napoli player to score in both legs of a European Cup or UCL tie when he broke the deadlock on Wednesday.

Napoli manager, Spalletti during his post-match press conference explained why Osimhen is now better than ever while he also heaped plaudits on Osimhen who was named the Man of the Match.

“Victor Osimhen is an excellent striker who can be a bit of a soloist and makes these sudden surges but he also has to combine with the rest of the team. He is starting to do that now and we are very happy.”

Osimhen has been in devastating form for Napoli this term with his Champions League brace against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night taking him to 23 goals for the season.

Since joining Napoli in the summer transfer window of 2020 for a fee of €70m, he has scored a hugely impressive 51 goals and 14 assists in only 90 appearances in all competitions.

Former Manchester United midfielder, Owen Hargreaves, has also lauded Osimhen, describing him as a perfect centre-forward while insisting that every top European club is chasing the 24-year-old.

“They attack in numbers. Politano with a great first touch, Di Lorenzo there, Osimhen there. They just overload you, he is always there, Osimhen,” Hargreaves said on BT Sport.

“He is a great athlete, runs the channels, he’s got size. He is literally a perfect center forward, no wonder everybody is chasing him.”