Osimhen’s struggles against Lazio continue as Napoli suffer shock defeat

Osimhen fired blanks in Napoli's clash against Lazio. Photo Credit: Foto Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse

Osimhen’s struggles against Lazio continue as Napoli suffer shock defeat

Joba Ogunwale 21:55 - 02.09.2023

Osimhen failed to score against Lazio again as Napoli suffered their first defeat of the new Serie A season.

Victor Osimhen was in action as Napoli suffered a 2-1 home defeat in their Serie A clash against Lazio at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. 

Luis Alberto opened the scoring for Lazio before Piotr Zielinski restored parity for Napoli. However, Daichi Kamada’s second-half strike gave Maurizio Sarri’s men the win. 

Osimhen was on the pitch for the entire duration, but the Nigerian fired blanks against the capital side for the second consecutive season. 

Osimhen fluff his lines as Lazio and Napoli share first half spoils

Napoli started the game better, dominating early possession. The defending champions had the first chance on goal, with Osimhen being in the centre of it. 

However, the Nigerian could not hit the target. Napoli continued to dominate the play, with Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia causing trouble. 

The two were Napoli’s main protagonists in their title success last season, and they almost replicated their magic in the first half. 

But once again, Osimhen could not finish properly after being teed up by the Georgian. Napoli’s failure to take their chances would come back to haunt them as Lazio took the lead against the run of play. 

Maurizio Sarri’s men took the lead on the half-hour mark, courtesy of a superb backheel finish from Luis Alberto. 

https://twitter.com/OfficialSSLazio/status/1698052820161741136

Alberto’s opener did wake Napoli up as they drew level two minutes later through Piotr Zielinski’s long-range effort. 

Zielinski’s equaliser woke Napoli up, with Lazio struggling to contain the home side. Napoli had numerous chances to take the lead in the first half but Lazio were 

Kamada punishes wasteful Napoli 

The second half started the same way the first half ended, with Napoli putting Lazio under immense pressure. 

Napoli’s first real chance in the second period came from the boots of Zielinski, but the Polish midfielder’s stunning effort was brilliantly pushed away by Ivan Provedel in Lazio’s goal. 

Rudi Garcia’s men continued to put Lazio on the back foot, but the away side repelled everything Napoli threw at them. 

Napoli’s failure to turn their dominance into a lead would once again come back to hurt them as Lazio went ahead again. 

Just like in the first half, Sarri’s men took the lead against the run of play, courtesy of a strike from Daichi Kamada. 

Napoli tried to find the equaliser but it was Lazio who came close to extending their lead. Sarri’s men found the back of the net twice, but the two strikes were controversially chalked off for offside. 

It did not matter, though, as Sarri’s men held on for their first league win of the season. 

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