As Barcelona prepares to face Napoli in the return leg of the Europa League knock-out round play-offs at the Diego Maradona stadium, manager Xavi Hernandez will be racking his brains on how to prevent Nigerian Victor Osimhen from assisting the Partenopei in progressing to the next round.
After recovering from a cheekbone injury that kept him out for nearly two months, the 23-year-old scored two goals in five outings. In 16 Serie A games this season, the Nigerian international has scored seven goals, with four more in as many Europa League outings.
He played 80 minutes against Barcelona last week and came off the bench for the final 23 minutes of Napoli’s 1-1 tie with Cagliari on Monday, scoring a late equalizer.
Osimhen is a complete striker with the speed and physical ability to provide a threat to any defence. In tomorrow’s encounter at the Stadio Maradona, where both sides must score to advance for the Round of 16, Barcelona’s defenders, who aren’t particularly quick, may struggle to neutralize his threat.
This season, Osimhen has not only scored 11 goals in 20 games, but he has also scored critical goals for the Partenopei. He scores once every 156 minutes, and seven of his 11 goals were the game’s first.
This season, the Nigerian international has already proven his worth in Italy and Europe. He scored four goals in three games in the group stage at the start of the season, including a brace against Leicester City in Napoli’s first European game.
His goals have also helped Napoli to 11 points out of 54 in Serie A, accounting for 20% of the team’s total. Even though injuries have hampered him during his two-year stay at the Stadio Maradona, he is becoming more consistent.
Osimhen has missed 37 games since the start of the 2020-21 season, with his most recent cheekbone injury keeping him out until mid-January. He’ll wear a protective mask against Barcelona tomorrow night, but his form improves with each game, and if there’s a man for the job in Thursday’s match against Barcelona, it’s surely the Nigerian Bomber!
