Napoli manager praises 'irritable' Victor Osimhen after inspiring 'important' victory

Izuchukwu Akawor 06:41 - 17 December 2023

Victor Osimhen was heads above everyone else against Cagliari.

Victor Osimhen's heading prowess could have benefited from Sodiq's excellent deliveries. (Photo Credit: Osimhen/X)

African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen played an important role in Napoli's return to winning ways in the Serie A.

Nigeria Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has earned the praise of his manager Walter Mazzarri after an inspirational outing against Cagliari in the Serie A.

Osimhen was in fine form as Napoli secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Cagliari to return to winning ways after a run of two successive defeats in the league.

A moment of magic from Victor Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia inspired Napoli to victory.

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Osimhen shines for Napoli

The 24-year-old ended a run of three successive matches in the Italian Serie A without a goal with a performance that saw him score one and assist the winner.

In a remarkable six-minute spell that saw Diego Armando Maradona Stadium witness three beautiful goals, the Nigerian opened the scoring with a header in the 69th minute before setting up partner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for the decisive winning goal six minutes later.

Kvaratskhelia runs to Victor Osimhen to celebrate the amazing goal. (Photo Credit: Serie A/X)

After the match, Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri was a relieved man as his club sealed an important win.

Mazzarri also expressed happiness to see the reigning African and Italian Player of the Year and his partner in crime, Kvara, on the score sheet having seen both players become irritable having gone five matches without a game in the Serie A.

Victor Osimhen won the AIC Player of the Season || Image credit: Imago

“This was a very important win, we needed to get back on track because we are Napoli,” Mazzarri stated per Football Italia.

It would’ve started an ugly situation if we hadn’t won today, as the belief of the squad could’ve been put to the test.

https://twitter.com/SerieA_EN/status/1736103226338877456

I am glad that he and Kvara scored because they were both looking a bit irritable,” he added. “They needed to get back to being protagonists the way they were last season.

I can’t blame the team for getting tense, as it felt like in the first half the goal was cursed. When strikers are not relaxed, they can make really simple mistakes.

After the performance against Cagliari, Nigeria’s Osimhen did not just prove why he is the best in Africa and Italy but also added to his goal contributions.

He has now scored seven goals and provided two assists in 13 matches this season for Napoli in the Serie A.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrJfIqiFJBU