Victor Osimhen Makes Serie A History After Man of the Match Performance for Napoli Against Atalanta

Victor Osimhen Makes Serie A History After Man of the Match Performance for Napoli Against Atalanta

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:16 PM
In this article:
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V. Osimhen
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  • Victor Osimhen has broken the record for most goals by a Nigerian in the Serie A
  • The 23-year-old Nigerian striker scored and assisted in Napoli's 2-1 win over Atalanta on Saturday evening
  • Osimhen has now scored 32 Serie A goals in 60 matches to overtake Simy Nwankwo, who has 31

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen produced a phenomenal performance for Napoli against Atalanta in the Serie A on Saturday, 5th November, in Bergamo.

The Nigerian international scored a goal and provided the assist for what became Napoli's game-winning goal.

Victor Osimhen, Napoli, Nigeria, Simy Nwankwo, Serie A
Victor Osimhen is the leading scorer in Serie A this season with nine goals. Photo by Emilio Andreoli.
Source: Getty Images

The Napoli talisman has now scored seven goals in his last six games. Napoli extended their unbeaten run in the Italian top flight with a 2-1 comeback win over Atalanta on Saturday.

Osimhen's compatriot Ademola Lookman opened the scoring for Atalanta in the 19th minute from the penalty spot. However, Osimhen and Napoli fired back instantly to restore parity in the 23rd minute, according to Goal.

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Osimhen then provided a sublime assist to Eljif Elmas to score Napoli's second in the 35th minute.

Osimhen makes Serie A history

With his goal against Atalanta, the 23-year-old became the highest-scoring Nigerian in the Serie A with 32 goals in 60 matches, according to Squawka.

He overtook Benevento striker Simy Nwankwo who has scored 31 goals in the Italian top flight. Simy scored an incredible 20 goals for Crotone in the 2020/21 season, according to Transfermarkt.

On his current form, Osimhen is expected to extend the record by some distance come the end of this season.

The Nigerian striker has nine goals and two assists in all competitions this season and is Serie A's top scorer despite missing three weeks because of injury.

Osimhen equals Weah and Salah's record

Sports Brief earlier reported on Osimhen speaking after equalling George Weah and Mohamed Salah's record in Serie A.

Osimhen's hat-trick against Sassuolo saw him become the fifth African to net a Serie A hat-trick, after Liberia’s George Weah, Cameroon’s Patrick M'boma, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Senegal’s Keita Balde.

Osimhen said he was excited to score his first hat-trick despite numerous challenges.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.