Nigeria and Viktoria Plzen striker Rafiu Durosinmi celebrates with his teammate. Photo by IMAGO
Viktoria Plzen head coach Miroslav Koubek has praised Nigerian striker Rafiu Durosinmi’s steady improvement despite his side’s painful 2-1 home defeat to Lazio in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg on Thursday night, Soccernet.ng reports.
Durosinmi continued his fine goalscoring form, heading home a second-half equaliser at the Doosan Aréna to cancel out Alessio Romagnoli’s first-half opener for the visitors.
However, Danish forward Gustav Isaksen struck in the eighth minute of stoppage time to give Lazio a crucial advantage ahead of the return leg in Italy.
Despite the heartbreak, Koubek remained upbeat about his team’s performance and singled out Durosinmi for praise.
“Rafiu Durosinmi is constantly improving,” Koubek said after the match according to the club’s official website.
“If we look at the individual positions, we have a midfield at the national level. Matěj Vydra played in the Premier League, Cadu is a great footballer, Sampson Dweh represents Liberia. As we gradually gain experience, we stop being afraid of anyone and we believe in ourselves.”
Durosinmi’s equaliser is his fifth goal in six matches, with the youngster firmly putting a nightmarish year-long injury spell behind him.
The 22-year-old has been a standout performer in recent weeks, having also scored against Ferencvaros in the playoffs to help the Czech side reach the round of 16.
The former Karviná striker was lively from the start, and Plzen thought they had taken an early lead when Pavel Sulc found the net in the 11th minute, only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside.
Lazio capitalised on that reprieve and went ahead in the 21st minute, with Romagnoli bundling the ball home from Pedro’s corner. The Italian side held on to their lead until the break, but Plzen came out strongly in the second half.
Their pressure paid off eight minutes after the restart when Durosinmi rose highest to meet Lukas Kalvach’s pinpoint free-kick, powering a header past Ivan Provedel to restore parity.
The home side gained further momentum when Lazio were reduced to ten men following Nicolo Rovella’s red card for a dangerous challenge on Cadu after a VAR review in the 77th minute.
Samuel Gigot’s late dismissal for a reckless tackle left Lazio down to nine men, but Maurizio Sarri’s side refused to buckle under pressure. In the dying moments, Matteo Guendouzi picked out Isaksen on the edge of the box, and the Dane unleashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner to snatch a dramatic victory.
Koubek admitted his side’s wastefulness in front of goal proved costly.
“We should have scored more than one goal,” he said. “We have quality, but of course also gaps. It was visible in the conversion of chances.”
The defeat leaves Viktoria Plzen facing an uphill battle ahead of the second leg in Rome. Koubek’s men will first turn their attention to the Czech league clash against Pardubice before they look to overturn the deficit and keep their Europa League dream alive.
With Durosinmi in red-hot form, the Czech side will be hoping their Nigerian star can inspire another memorable night on the European stage.
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