May 15, (THEWILL) – Victor Osimhen opened the scoring in the last home game of the season for Napoli in a 3-0 win over Genoa, who were relegated from Serie A as Lorenzo Insigne signed off his Napoli home games with a goal to wrap up proceedings.
All eyes were on Insigne, who was given a gift before the game ahead of his departure to MLS club Toronto, but he had to wait for his chance when Osimhen found the net in the 32nd minute with a header from Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s whipped cross.
The visitors had made a strong start, and Kelvin Yeboah’s fantastic long-range drive was saved by the crossbar. When Napoli doubled their lead midway through the second half, Genoa suddenly had a mountain to climb.
Brazilian Hernani was punished for handling the ball in the area and Insigne stepped up to take charge of the spot-kick. He initially missed, but referee Michael Fabbri ordered it to be retaken due to encroachment, and the 30-year-old made no errors with his second try.
Stanislav Lobotka scored a fantastic individual goal for Luciano Spalletti’s side, charging from deep and hitting a low shot into the bottom corner to complete a comprehensive victory for the hosts and cement their third place finish.
With one game remaining, Napoli has moved seven points ahead of fourth-placed Juventus. Genoa is still in 19th place, three points from safety, and Italian football’s oldest club will drop to Serie B next season after 15 years in the top flight.
Coincidentally, 15 years ago, on the last day of the 2006/2007 Serie B season, Napoli and Genoa celebrated a much-awaited promotion to Serie A together only for Napoli to be instrumental to Genoa’s demotion back to Serie B.
Osimhen, who took off his mask to celebrate his opener, finished the season with 14 goals in Serie A, seven of which he scored with his head to finish as one of the most clinical with headers. He finished with eight headed goals in all competitions in the 2021/2022 campaign.
In that time, only Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski’s headers (8) came close to Osimhen in Europe’s top five leagues. Karim Benzema had six, Erling Haaland five, Vlahovic four. And, they all played more games than Osimhen apart from Haaland.
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.
