Spalletti Tells Osimhen And Teammates What They Should do to Beat Barcelona in Europa League

Spalletti Tells Osimhen And Teammates What They Should do to Beat Barcelona in Europa League

Ibitoye Shittu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:56 PM
In this article:
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V. Osimhen
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  • Victor Osimhen is expected to lead the attack for Napoli in their Europa League second leg tie against Barcelona
  • Napoli coach Spalletti has now warned the Nigerian and his teammates to fight hard against Barcelona
  • The first leg at the Camp Nou ended in a 1-1 draw and Barcelona will not want to crash out at this stage

Victor Osimhen and his teammates at Napoli have been told by their gaffer Luciano Spalletti that they will have to show serious fighting spirit against Barcelona in Europa League battle.

Napoli forced Barcelona to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League knockout with Victor Osimhen failing to score as the Nigerian found it hard to break the Catalans' defense.

Spalletti and his players will on Thursday night, 24 February, be at home to host Barcelona in the return leg which is expected to be a tough battle.

Napoli players
Napoli players in action against Barcelona. Photo by Eric Alonso
Source: Getty Images

Victor Osimhen is still expected to lead the Attack for Napoli in this game, while Aubameyang would steer that of Barcelona for a fight to qualify for the round of 16.

According to the report on Complete Sports and This Day, Spalletti is of the view that the tie against Barcelona will be tough for his players.

Luciano Spalletti's statement ahead of Barcelona game

“Those who fight can lose, but who doesn’t even fight has lost already. We need to take risks, command and show what we want to do, otherwise they’ll force us to defend deep.
“It will be a tough game, we’ll have to be like soldiers in a video-game. A battle to conquer a position. Earn space, or you’ll be shot and die.''

Odion Ighalo scores as Al Hilal record Super win over tough opponents

Earlier, Sports Brief had reported how Odion Ighalo, on Monday night, 21 February, continued with his impressive performance this season as the Nigerian scored a goal to help his side Al Hilal beat Al Nassr 2-1.

The encounter was in the quarterfinal of the King's Cup, in which Odion Ighalo and his teammates have landed in the semifinal and will be aiming to win the title.

Since joining Al Hilal, the former Manchester United striker has been in scintillating form, with the Nigerian now having four goals for his new club.

Al Nassr scored the first goal in this match in the 17th minute through Talisca, who benefited from an assist by Vincent Aboubakar.

Al Hilal fans had to wait until the 62nd minute before Odion Ighalo restored parity for his side before Salem Al Dawsari netted the winner via a penalty in the 80th minute.

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