Tuesday’s Champions League Round of 16 first-leg match between visiting Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt included goals from Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, giving Napoli a comfortable 2-0 victory. For the best sports betting casinos of March 2023, make sure you visit CasinoDaddy’s pages!
Nigerian forward Osimhen, who is in excellent form and has already scored 10 goals in his past nine games in all competitions, tapped in at the far post to give his team a lead in the 40th minute.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who made up for missing his penalty in the first half, provided a fantastic backheel pass for captain Di Lorenzo, who then doubled the lead.
Luciano Spalletti, the Napoli coach, expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance. “From the start, the team played with character, took control of the game, and did what we wanted to do.
“We probably had the chance to score an extra goal that could have been useful for us. I still think it is 50-50 for the qualification because there is still a game to be played,” he added to his comments.
Error-prone Frankfurt was no match for the Italians, who also had Hirving Lozano hit the post, and had Randal Kolo Muani sent with a red card in the 58th minute. As Frankfurt’s Aurelio Buta attempted to clear the ball, he kicked Osimhen, earning Frankfurt a penalty. Kvaratskhelia of Georgia, who with Osimhen has scored 32 goals for the lopsided Serie A leaders this season, was unable to defeat Kevin Trapp from the penalty spot.
Just five minutes later, Osimhen improved on it when Mexican Lozano, whose darting movements down the right side caused havoc, whipped in another low cross to the far post for the Nigerian to score.
Osimhen, therefore, became the first Napoli player since Arkadiusz Milik in 2018–19 to score 20 goals in all competitions in a single season. A minute later, Osimhen made a nearly identical move to put the ball in the net once more, but his attempt was disallowed due to offside.
close-season acquisition After another Lozano through ball, Kvaratskhelia had a wonderful opportunity to increase their advantage in the 57th minute but once more failed to beat Trapp in a one-on-one.
A minute later, Frankfurt’s fortunes changed when their leading scorer Kolo Muani was sent packing for a careless challenge on Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
As Kvaratskhelia scooped up the ball in the box and backheeled it for Di Lorenzo to curl a shot into the far bottom corner, Napoli was rewarded for their increased pressure in the 65th minute.
The second leg still has to be completed, according to Mario Gotze of Frankfurt. “They scored two goals here, why should we not do that as well? We know everything is still possible.”
