Sassuolo 0-2 Napoli: Osimhen Scores 18th Serie A goal
Striker, Victor Osimhen, has set new personal benchmark in goal scoring excellence with a virtuoso display in Napoli’s 2-0 win over Sassuolo on Saturday.
Osimhen making his 197th appearance for both club and country scored his 100th career goal in the 33rd minute to double Napoli’s lead after a wonderful solo effort from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had shot the Naples based club into the lead after 12 minutes as Napoli’s relentless charge to the Scudetto continues.
The Nigerian brilliantly held off two defenders before catching Andrea Consigli off guard with a ferocious effort hit early from a tight angle.
Osimhen also spurned a one-on-one opportunity early in the second half, and Andrea Pinamonti nodded agonisingly wide at the other end.
Victory at Mapei Stadium made it seven Serie A wins in a row since a 1-0 defeat to Inter in their first game back after the World Cup, extending the Partenopei’s lead at the summit to 18 points.
The defeat to Inter was a mere blip and their response to that has been astonishing. The Nerazzurri can reduce the deficit again on Saturday, though if they lose to Udinese then Napoli’s incredible 18-point lead will remain intact for another week
The Nigerian’s stunning record surpasses the achievements of the quartet of seven time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi reached the 100th goal mark after 210 appearances for both club and country while Drogba (236), Ibrahimovic (245) and Ronaldo (301).
The goal was his 18th Serie A goal of the season in 19 games .
Napoli are on 62 points from 23 games while second place Inter Milan have 44 points from 22 games.
His strike also saw him become the first player to score in seven consecutive Serie A games for Napoli.
Osimhen who was replaced in the 83rd minute by Giovanni Simeone now hold the third best min-per-goal ratio in Serie A since the 1994/95 season scoring a goal in every 124 minutes.
The Nigerian marksman is behind Ronaldo and Ronaldo de Lima.
The Portuguese captain averages a goal every 104 minuntes while the Brazilian Ronaldo scores after every 117 minutes.
Since the beginning of 2023 only Osimhen (10 — nine goals and one assist) has played a part in more goals than Kvaratskhelia (eight — four goals and four assists) in Europe’s top five leagues.
Napoli face Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, before going to Empoli in Serie A four days later.
Punch/Samuel Isaiah
