Napoli began their Serie A season with a comfortable 2-0 away win over Parma at the Tardini Stadium, as Victor Osimehn made his debut.
Although the first-half was as dull as it comes, the second-half was far livelier as Nigeria international Osimehn made his Serie A bow.
The 21-year-old entered the pitch after the 61st minute, and within two minutes, the Italian giants took the lead through Dries Mertens, after the forward challenged to win Hirving Lozano’s cross, placing pressure on Parma defender, Simone Iacoponi, who headed the ball into the Belgian international’s path and tapped in the opener.
A few minutes later, the former Lille man almost registered his first assist, flicking a wonderful ball to Lorenzo Insigne, whose shot hit the base of the post.
The match was put to bed on the 77th minute, as Insigne tapped in a cross poorly palmed away by Luigi Sepe. Osimehn’s pace and power on either end of the frontline dovetailed seamlessly with the technical prowess of Mertens and Insigne which could signal the start of a very prolific period for the club’s record signing.
After the game head coach, Gennaro Gattuso, widely known as someone who’s hard to please, praised the Super Eagles star for his debut display.
“Osimhen has a great attitude and is a better player than he’s shown on the pitch so far,” he said as per Football Italia.
“I knew that he could help us in the second half. He has the intelligence of a 40-year old.”
Osimhen scored 18 goals and registered six assists in 38 games for LOSC Lille during the 2019/20 season before his club-record €70-million transfer to Naples.
Source: africanfootballhq