Napoli: Victor Osimhen's goal drought and frustration
Victor Osimhen is searching for the net. The Napoli striker has not scored in four games in all competitions
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The Victor Osimhen goal machine has stalled. On Sunday 24 September in Serie A, the Nigerian failed to score, as did Napoli, held to a 0-0 draw at Bologna. On top of that, the striker missed a penalty. And with 15 minutes left, the Super Eagle was substituted by his manager. The decision left the forward furious. He made that plain to Rudi Garcia with a show of temper that the Italian press have made a meal of. The French coach has since spoken about the episode.
"I spoke with Victor after he came off, but that will stay between us. He remains our penalty taker. When a player is taken off and he's not happy, that's a good thing", he let slip after the match. However, it must be said that Victor Osimhen is not going through his best spell, far from it. The former Lille man has now gone four games in a row without scoring: three in the league and one in the Champions League. A drought that probably explains Napoli's current position of 7th in Serie A. Serie A's top scorer last season, the marksman had netted 26 goals to lead the Partenopei to the title.
Talking it through with his manager
Even so, it should be noted that last season Victor Osimhen had already started in similar fashion with Napoli. He had 2 goals in his first 5 games of the season. However, Napoli were not as far adrift in the table. The reigning champions are already 7 points behind the leader, Inter.
To move forward, Victor Osimhen has already made peace with Rudi Garcia. In its edition of Monday 25 September, La Gazzetta dello Sport says that "Everything is back in order and the club should not punish him", before adding: "Garcia and Osimhen had a discussion and the player apologised (…) It was necessary so as not to damage the mood in the dressing room". A truce between two proud men that could allow the 24-year-old to concentrate on his efficiency. That is timely, as Napoli host Udinese on Wednesday 27 September. A chance to let the lightning strike and banish the doubts, if there are any.