‘Osimhen is finished’ - Super Eagles striker under fire after Napoli lose to Atalanta
i

Victor Osimhen is the victim of social media criticism again, after Napoli lost to Atalanta |Photo Credit: Imago

‘Osimhen is finished’ - Super Eagles striker under fire after Napoli lose to Atalanta

Asukwo Oduo 11:33 - 31.03.2024

Napoli and Nigeria striker Osimhen is again in the news after failing to find the back of the net in their 0-3 loss to Atalanta

Victor Osimhen was once again the victim of social media backlash after the reigning Serie A champions Napoli fell 3-0 at home to Atalanta.

The Super Eagles striker only just returned to full fitness to start the game against La Dea after missing Nigeria’s international friendlies against Ghana and Mali through injury.

However, it was a day to forget for Osimhen and Napoli as they got blown away by Ademola Lookman’s Atalanta in front of their home crowd at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Osimhen’s performance against Napoli 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Osimhen (11 goals in 18 games) was quite lively in the encounter, but he didn’t hit the heights expected of a top striker of his calibre after bagging 26 Serie A goals in 32 matches last term.

The 25-year-old could have scored a brace against Atalanta, but he was frustrated by some good goalkeeping from Italian shot-stopper Marco Carnesecchi. 

The reigning African Footballer of the Year recorded 6 shots during the game, 0 assists, 0 goals and missed 1 big chance.

It is on the back of this performance that some fans have labelled the Nigerian striker a finished player.

Osimhen is finished - Reactions as Napoli lose to Atalanta

Napoli's loss to Atalanta can’t be completely blamed on Osimhen as Francesco Calzona’s side was guilty of some shocking defending, allowing Atalanta’s hitman Aleksey Miranchuk and other attackers time and space inside their box.

I Partenopei were also missing a key player - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who was absent due to a thigh injury. His absence was felt as Napoli failed to create any clear-cut chance in the game.

Here are some of the reactions from social media; 

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Victor Osimhen is expected to leave Napoli in the summer, with Chelsea, Arsenal, and PSG in the race for the former Lille man.