Osimhen, M’Boma Among 4 African Players to Score Hat Tricks in Italian Serie A

• Osimhen reached another landmark in Italy after his hat-trick
• He joins a list of African players to score three goals in Serie A
• Osimhen has scored five goals since his return from the AFCON

The Serie A is one of Europe's most popular and difficult football competitions, but African players have excelled in the league despite its ruggedness.

The Italian league is known for its defensive solidity, which makes scoring goals harder and netting a hat-trick even more difficult, as very few players can brag about netting three goals in a Serie A game.

On Wednesday, February 28, Victor Osimhen became the first ever African player to score two Serie A hat-tricks as a rampant Napoli came from behind to earn a thumping 6-1 win over Sassuolo, Eurosport reports.

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The Nigerian forward completed one of the fastest hat-tricks witnessed in Serie A after scoring his three goals against the hosts in the space of 16 minutes to propel Napoli to a comfortable victory.

Osimhen's hat-trick made it five goals in three games since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, where he led Nigeria to win the Silver medal at the competition in Ivory Coast.

4 African players with Serie A hat-tricks

1. Patrick M’Boma (Cameroon/Cagliari) – 1999

2. Keita Baldé (Senegal/Lazio) – 2017

3. Boulaye Dia (Senegal/ Salernitana) – 2023

4. Victor Osimhen(Nigeria/Napoli) – 2022 and 2024

Osimhen sets new Napoli record

Meanwhile, Osimhen moved to 13th spot in Napoli’s all-time scorers chart after the Nigerian forward scored his first hat-trick of the season in the 6-1 demolition of Sassuolo, Punch NG reports.

With this treble, the 25-year-old forward became the third player in Napoli history to score at least 10 goals in four successive Serie A seasons, following the late Diego Maradona and Attila Sallustro.

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Osimhen currently has 72 goals in 122 games for Napoli, and he is tied for fourth place in the Serie A top scorers rankings this season, with Paulo Dybala with 11 goals from 15 games.

Osimhen hilariously amends Opponent’s net

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Osimhen was on the social media trends table after the Napoli forward was captured amending the net of his opponents Sassuolo in a Serie A game.

With the score 2-1, the play was delayed after Sassuolo goalkeeper, Andrea Consigli, accidentally damaged the net with an uncomfortable landing while attempting to save a lob from Kvicha Kvaratskhelia.

With the net torn from its mountings, Osimhen took the initiative to assist the staff in patching it up alongside Consigli, as they were two of the tallest players on the pitch.