Legendary Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero has praised Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen despite his inability to score for Napoli in their 3-1 loss to Barcelona in their UEFA Champions League tie on Tuesday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Osimhen has been Napoli’s major outlet for the last two years. Last season, the Nigerian attacker scored 26 goals in 32 appearances to help the Partenopeans to their first Serie A title in over 30 years.
This season, despite missing eleven of Napoli Napoli’s 28 games in the Serie A, Osimhen is still the club’s highest goalscorer in the league with 11 goals.
Unfortunately, Osimhen could not help Napoli navigate past Barcelona in the Champions League. The 25-year-old hitman scored the important equalizer in the first leg, but he was caged in the second leg. Osimhen had just one shot on goal, which was wide. Eventually, Napoli went on to lose 3-1 – and 4-2 on aggregate.
Following the result, former Italy and Juventus star Del Piero was unsatisfied with Osimhen’s performance. However, he still believes that his performance was a result of the overall team performance.
“The commitment was maximum, but aside from that, it was a bad match. He ended up offside so many times, which was a bit excessive, even if his job was to stay on the line and attack deep,” Del Piero said per Napoli Magazine.
“You may feel down, but his qualities are unquestionable. In general, he is in a very negative season for Napoli, and therefore, he hasn’t faced everything that has happened in this season with a smile, but his attitude has always been positive.”
With their exit from Europe, Napoli can now focus on the Serie A. They have ten games left to salvage something from the season. They currently sit seven points away from the Champions League spots.
