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Del Piero Defends Osimhen Following Napoli’s Defeat
Eko Hot Blog reports that Alessandro Del Piero, the Italian legend, has come to the defense of Victor Osimhen following criticism from Fabio Capello and the Italian media after Napoli’s 3-1 loss to Barcelona on Tuesday.
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Napoli managed to secure a 1-1 draw against Barcelona in Naples, but couldn’t reproduce the same level of performance in Catalonia, succumbing to a 3-1 defeat. Goals from Fermin Lopez, Joao Cancelo, and Roberto Lewandowski overshadowed Amir Rrahmani’s earlier goal for Napoli.
Osimhen failed to make a key impact for Napoli and was isolated in attack, managing only one shot across the 90 minutes and winning just one of his attempted 10 duels.
According to the player ratings from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport, Osimhen was rated five and blamed for his inability to stay onside as he was flagged six times (three in the first 21 minutes) in the first half.
La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote, “Ready-go and they waste a colossal opportunity that could’ve changed history, a bad sign. In the first 20 minutes, he (Osimhen) went offside four times.”
Corriere dello Sport added, “He (Osimhen) played between the expert Araujo and the 17-year-old Cubarsi, against a high line, always on the edge of an offside which became a systematic trap.”
Tuttosport commented, “Constantly offside, he practically never managed to connect in the match.”
Corriere della Sera echoed these sentiments, underlining his lack of impact in the game, saying, “He (Osimhen) ended up offside three times in the first 21 minutes, four in the entire first half. An anonymous match.”
Capello was also unimpressed by the Nigeria international’s performance against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
“He Osimhen was flagged offside six times in the first half and went unnoticed in the second half,” he said.
“It was not the same Osimhen we usually see. He struggled against Barcelona defenders and only won one aerial duel. Barcelona’s weak point was the defence, and he could not emerge.”
However, Capello thought the Partenopei deserved a penalty kick in the second half for a potential foul on Osimhen.
“I feel Napoli deserved a penalty, I didn’t like the referee,” Capello added.
But former Juventus captain and Italy forward Del Piero feels the 25-year-old showed a positive attitude against the La Liga giants.
“He put in maximum commitment even if being flagged offside so many times is a little bit excessive,” Del Piero told Sky Sport Italia.
“Of course, when you play badly in an important match, you are slightly down, but Osimhen’s qualities can’t be questioned. Napoli has had a negative season, so you don’t always face what happens with a smile. However, Osimhen’s attitude was always positive.”
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Osimhen has netted 13 goals in 24 outings across various competitions this season, including a goal in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg against Barcelona two weeks ago.
Napoli’s next Serie A game is against Inter at the Stadio Meazza in San Siro on Sunday.
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