Viktoria Plzen coach Miroslav Koubek has praised Nigerian striker Rafiu Durosinmi after his goal and assist in their 3-0 win over Ferencvaros in the Europa League round of 16 playoffs on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Durosinmi was the star of the show for Plzen against Ferencvaros, as he was involved in two of their three goals. The Nigerian forward could not show much of his ability when Plzen lost 1-0 at Ferencvaros last week as he had just 25 minutes of action. But this time, he took the law into his hands.
Durosinmi set up Vaclav Jemelka for the opener in the 27th minute. Pavel Sulc scored the second for Viktoria Plzen in the 35th minute before Durosinmi made it 3-0 in the 38th minute. The Nigerian striker got on the end of a pass from Sulc and struck a well-place shot into the net.
Durosinmi was taken off in the 54th minute, but his efforts were just enough to seal the win for Viktoria Plzen.
After the game, coach Koubek spoke glowingly about Durosinmi, but he believes the 22-year-old striker still has some things to improve on.
“Rafiu is excellent in the penalty area. He has a goal instinct, he can find the right place and get to the ball,” Koubek said.
“However, his lack in the middle game and combination component is still visible. He is far from his top level yet. But if he scores two goals in 60 minutes of play, we will definitely not complain.”
Rafiu Durosinmi is back with a bang after 15-month injury lay-off
Rafiu Durosinmi is back in hot form after missing the last 15 months due to a knee injury. He was heavily linked with a transfer to German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt in late 2023, but the transfer fell through due to his injury.
Eintracht Frankfurt completed the deal for Rafiu Durosinmi to join the club for €9m from Viktoria Plzen.
Durosinmi arrives on Thursday as called by BILD — medical already booked.
Second signing after Donny van de Beek, already 100% done. pic.twitter.com/RgIaWZnaza
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 27, 2023
The 22-year-old striker returned to action three weeks ago. After playing 25 minutes off the bench in his first three games, he has started Viktoria Plzen's last two games, grabbing three goals and one assist.
Durosinmi is a fox in the box and has the ability to sniff out opportunities. He also has impressive pace with nice positioning to go with it. If he continues to score goals for Viktoria Plzen, he could get his big transfer in the summer.
