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Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero has leaped in defence of Victor Osimhen after the Nigerian striker was criticised by Fabio Capello and the Italian media in the wake of Napoli’s 3-1 loss against Barcelona on Tuesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Partenopei held the Blaugrana to a 1-1 draw in Naples, but they were unable to replicate that performance in Catalonia, losing 3-1 loss after goals from Fermin Lopez, Joao Cancelo and Roberto Lewandowski, cancelling out Amir Rrahmani’s goal.
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.
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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.
“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.”
Osimhen has scored 13 goals in 24 appearances across all competitions this season, including one 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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