September 12, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen was in action for his Serie A side Napoli as they came back from a goal down to defeat Juventus, in another dismal outing for the Old Lady in the new season.
Juventus have struggled to get wins this season and all three attempts so far have proven unsuccessful, each one worse than the one before. An opening day 2-2 draw with Udinese was followed by a 1-0 loss to Empoli before Osimhen’s Napoli came from behind to compound their misery.
Having lost their Cristiano Ronaldo advantage, Massimiliano Allegri could only watch on in helplessness as his side slipped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after taking the lead as early as the 10th minute.
The goal came against the run of play as the Partenopei looked to capitalise on their early dominance. Alvaro Morata robbed Kostas Manolas of possession, raced in on goal and coolly slotted the ball beyond David Ospina.
Thereafter, it became a struggle for either side to create clear-cut chances. Osimhen, who was on target for Nigeria in the World Cup Qualifier against Cape Verde, was kept at bay.
The halftime team talk must have been tough in the Napoli dressing room because it took only ten minutes of the second half for Luciano Spalletti’s charges to level the scores. Unfortunately, Juve’s goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was partially responsible for the goal.
Szczesny failed to properly handle Lorenzo Insigne’s curling shot. He could only palm the ball into the path of Matteo Politano and the Napoli man gratefully took the opportunity to equalise. Both sides had more chances, but the scores stayed 1-1 until there were only five minutes of regulation time left.
Napoli earned a corner and Moise Kean rose to head the in-swinging ball only to inexplicably misdirect his header towards his own goal. Szczesny’s sharp reflexes helped him claw the ball away from the line, but again only as far as Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, who tapped home on the goal line to give Napoli the lead.
The home fans were in good voice, cheering and chanting in support of their side. It helped Spalletti’s team grasp the final stages and hold out to the final whistle. Napoli went straight to the top of the league with three wins out of three games. Up next is the UEFA Champions League opener against Leicester City.
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.
