AC Milan demolish Napoli in Osimhen’s absence – explaining Nigerian striker’s importance ahead of Champions League clash

Osimhen suffered a knock while on international duty with Nigeria, and his absence was felt by Napoli as they succumbed to a 4-0 drubbing at home to AC Milan 

Napoli were without star man Victor Osimhen when they suffered a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of a ruthless AC Milan side at the Stadio Diego Amando Maradona.

Soccernet.ng reports that Osimhen suffered a knock while on international with Nigeria, and he had to be rested for the fixture.

Unfortunately, the Nigerian's absence was felt, as his side were second-best on the night against a hungry Milan side. Goals from Rafael Leao, Brahim Diaz, and Alexis Saelemaekers sealed the victory for the Rossoneri.

With the Serie A almost wrapped up and in the kitty for Napoli, the game was a dress rehearsal for their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal. Both teams meet twice in the next 16 days as they seek to seal a place in the semis.

However, Sunday's loss made one thing clear – Napoli would need Osimhen if they want to get something out of the tie.

Explaining Osimhen's importance to Napoli

When Osimhen sustained an injury earlier in the season, Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone did the business for coach Luciano Spalletti, scoring goals aplenty.

However, asides from his potency that has seen him average a goal every 91 minutes, some qualities set Osimhen apart from the other strikers at Napoli.

Osimhen has an outstanding work rate. He does the job on the offensive end as well as defensively. The Super Eagles striker averages 0.8 clearances per game according to sofascore.

Also, Osimhen's tireless press has yielded results in Serie A a few times, the most memorable of which was his goal against Roma, when he robbed Smalling of the ball and smashed it into the net.

The 24-year-old striker wins the ball in the final third 0.8 times per game, and this attribute is key because of the way Napoli press.

Asides from that, Osimhen in the box is a ticking time bomb, and his teammates know that. Mario Rui would be confident to cross the ball into the box because he knows that Osimhen would be there to pounce. However, because Simeone has not scored a lot of goals this season, they may think twice before crossing the ball.

Will Osimhen be available for the Champions League clash against AC Milan?

The Super Eagles striker did not sustain a serious injury. According to Football Italia, Osimhen indicated that he would be available for Napoli's Champions League clash against Milan but needs to rest.

Osimhen's presence would add a lot of purpose to the Napoli attack, and coach Spalletti would hope that his star man is available as they look to gain a first-leg advantage against AC Milan next week.