January 18, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen was a second half substitute as Napoli won their second game in a row, making quick work of Bologna and gaining ground on the teams ahead of them in the standings.
As THEWILL reported, on November 21, Osimhen suffered a horrific facial fracture at the hands of Inter defender Milan Skriniar, which necessitated surgery for his many facial fractures.
Osimhen returned to training with a protective mask at the start of last week, indicating that he was close to making a comeback. The striker was set to play for Nigeria after being named in the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. He tested positive for COVID-19, though, and was unable to join the group, requiring caretaker manager Augustine Eguavoen to replace him.
The Partenopei got off to a good start and had their first goal-scoring chance after only five minutes. With a wonderful ball over the top, Fabian Ruiz found Hirving Lozano in the box. The Mexican striker went for goal but Lukasz Skuropski stopped him with a fantastic save.
After a quarter of an hour, El Chucky succeeded in breaking through. On the left flank, Ruiz teed up Elijf Elmas, who sent a precise square ball that Lozano tucked home.
Bologna appeared to have been roused to life by Napoli’s goal, but they failed to create any clear-cut chances. In the box, Bologna’s midfielder Mattias Svanberg attempted to link with Roberto Soriano, but Alex Meret quickly closed the space.
Aaron Hickey’s long-range shot was similarly stopped by the goalkeeper. Ruiz’s cannon shot rattled the woodwork for the Partenopei’s final chance of the first half.
After the break, the Azzurri extended their lead. On a set piece, the Felsinei were too unbalanced, and the opponents devised a lethal counter-attack. It was led by Piotr Zielinski, who sprung Ruiz on the left wing and set up Lozano with a low-driven cross that only needed to be nudged into the net.
Despite the fact that there was plenty of time left, the goal was the last scored in the game. Bologna’s offensive was ineffective and Napoli did enough to keep them in check.
As the clock ticked towards the end, Hickey rocketed away towards goal once more, but Meret made another easy save to maintain the scoreline. 20 minutes before the end, Osimhen returned looking lively and had an attempt at goal that went wide.
In stoppage time, the Rossoblù had their best chance. On a free kick from outside the box, Svanberg hit the post and that was as far as it went before the final whistle.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
