Victor Osimhen back for Napoli: The stats behind his incredible goal-scoring form
The Serie A top scorer returns to the starting XI for the crucial Champions League second leg against AC Milan.
Napoli go into their quarter-final second leg tie knowing that they need to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit if they are to progress past AC Milan.
Tuesday’s crucial fixture will be the third time in a matter of weeks that the two sides have faced each other. Before that 1-0 defeat, Napoli were beaten 4-0 by Milan in Serie A.
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But Napoli can take heart from the knowledge that they were without the talismanic presence of Victor Osimhen for both of those games.
With the Nigerian striker back for the crucial second leg clash the Milan backline will have to be on their toes to keep him quiet. Osimhen has been one of the hottest striking talents in Europe this season, as these stats from our friends at Sofascore demonstrate…
Serie A’s top marksman
In the past Osimhen had built a reputation as an extremely talented, if slightly profligate, forward. But this season he’s added goals to his game and catapulted himself into contention as one of Europe’s finest forwards.
He has scored 25 goals in just 30 games in all competitions this season and also leads the Serie A scoring charts.
Impressively, he has done this despite missing part of the season due to injury. He is currently averaging a goal every 91 minutes across all competitions. If he starts, he’ll probably score; that’s quite a weapon for Luciano Spalletti to have at his disposal.
Osimhen’s all-round play
While he has proved himself as a top finisher this season, he is also a crucial part of Napoli’s system out of possession. The pacey target man is just as comfortable receiving the ball to feet as he is running in behind, posing defences problems with his movement.
The extent of his influence on Napoli’s play can be seen by his heat map. The Nigerian forward has a presence right across the offensive half of the pitch and even plays an important role in his own penalty box when it comes to set pieces.
With Osimhen back in the team, this Napoli will be a very different proposition to the one beaten twice by Milan in recent weeks.