Victor Osimhen’s Serie A debut analysed

Image Courtesy of Complete Sports

It was an eventful evening filled with plaudits including Napoli’s managerGennaro Gattuso after the Nigerian striker made his debut against Parma. After his big-money move to Napoli, questions were raised as to why he was left on the bench but his cameo came with a devastating effect. The Parma vs Napoli game was the Serie A opener and all the league and cup matches this season will be offered here for the players.

While you watch Victor Osimhen’s antics on the pitch including other Serie A action, kingscodes provide various top competitive betting markets and options in addition to various bonuses and promotions you can enjoy. For Napoli fans, the hour mark saw a complete turnaround of the match after the introduction of the former Lille striker.

The remaining 30 minutes saw two more goals at Stadio Ennio Tardini from Napoli. But how did the Nigerian star change the game?

Gattuso had opted to go with a 4-3-3 formation that saw Dries Mertens taking the role of a false nine. On the flanks, Dries had Hirving Lozano and Lorenzo Insigne providing support. The midfield had a trio of Fabian Ruiz, Piotr Zielinski, and Diego Demme deployed as the holding midfielder.The backline had David Ospina in goal while Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kalidou Koulibaly, Konstantinos Manolas, and Elseid Hysaj provided cover for him. Throughout the game, different formations would be noticed from a defensive shape of 4-5-1 to an attacking shape of 4-1-3-2.

The first 45 minutes were so flat with no shot on target from the team from Naples. The team’s five strikes had four of them blocked and not even one of the six crosses found a Napoli player. The only cross that met a man in blue and white came after Osimhen’s cameo.

The 60^th minute saw Gattuso withdraw Diego Demme and in came the anticipated 21-year-old Nigerian, Victor Osimhen. His introduction saw the team revert to a new 4-4-2 formation. The Nigerian mostly flanked Dries Mertens on the right and flashes of promises were shown in his game. Within the half-hour period, Victor had created four chances with three of them for Dries Mertens.

Victor’s key moments came in the following minutes;

64^th Minute – Parma’s Simone Lacoponi beaten and the Nigerian sets up Dries Mertens who doesn’t hit the target
68^th Minute – A brilliant link-up with Dries sees him free the Belgian who goes on to hit the post
69^th Minute – Another interplay with Dries that sees Osimhen freed to find Di Lorenzo who has his effort saved
77^th Minute – A loose ball by Parma is intercepted by Lozano and Osimhen makes a run for the through ball. The Mexican decides to go for the goal himself but it is Insigne who scores with a rebound. It is the run from the Nigerian that makes it easy with the space created.

Aside from the great link-up with the Belgian, his runs were also lauded and are slated to pose a threat to central defenders who risk being dragged out of position.

While there was a backlash after being left on the bench, the 30-minutes show from the man point to a possible start in due time.

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