BEVERLY HILLS, October 23, (THEWILL) – Napoli, the Italian club of Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the opening Group F fixture of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening.
Dani De Wit, Dutch central midfielder, was the second half hero for the Cheeseheads. What made it even more dramatic was that the squad of the Eredivisie side was decimated due to COVID-19 infections among first team players. Though the Partenopei dominated possession convincingly throughout, they were unable to beat Marco Bizot in the Alkmaar goal.
As each side struggled for ascendency early on, the defences at both ends were on top of keeping the game level.
Osimhen actually had the ball was in the net in the 14th minute for Napoli. However, the goal was correctly disallowed for offside. Alkmaar’s Swedish winger Jesper Karlsson had what was arguably his team’s best chance of the night in the first half but shot straight at Alex Meret in the Partenopei goal.
Italian right winger and Napoli loanee, Matteo Politano had a deflected shot saved by Bizot while efforts from Dries Mertens and Osimhen were easily saved by the AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper who was having an impressive game.
As the first half progressed, Napoli kept on attacking the Cheeseheads, who appeared content with sitting deep and soaking up the pressure.
Osimhen was at the centre of things again when the Neapolitans came close to scoring in the 35th minute. The striker centered for winger Mertens, but the Belgian centre forward curled his shot wide. Then, Partenopei left-back Elseid Hysaj, the Albanian, tried his luck from distance but to no avail.
Again, it came to Napoli to break the deadlock just before the interval from a Mertens freekick. Again, it was wasted as Osimhen could not get a proper connection to steer the ball home.
The early minutes of the second half did not fare differently with chances few and far between. Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly had a heading opportunity but the ball went over the bar.
Then, 57 minutes into the fixture, AZ Alkmaar scored against the run of play in what was a well-worked team move. Norwegian right back Jonas Svensson combined with Yukinari Sugawara, his Japanese winger and when he got the return pass, Svensson pulled a cross for De Wit, for the Dutch to drive the ball to right of Meret in the Napoli goal.
Mario Rui, the Portuguese left back on as a substitute for Hysaj, crossed for another Osimhen chance but the striker headed straight at Bizot. Things did not improve for Napoli even when Andrea Petagna, Italian forward, replaced Osimhen after 65 minutes. Rui’s cross to Petagna from a Napoli corner two minutes after was met by a Petagna diving header from the centre of the box which went wide.
Politano had three shots from distance that were deflected out without ending up at the back of the net. Fabian Ruiz also tried his luck from outside of the box but he shot straight at Bizot.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo had one more chance from a set-piece in stoppage time but his effort went wide.
Napoli will face Real Sociedad in their next Europa League match on October 29. Before then, a domestic game away to Benevento awaits in the Serie A. AZ Alkmaar is also away in their next game against ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie.
About the Author
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.
