Verona, March 14 (BNA): Napoli moved up to second place in the Italian Serie A after Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen scored two goals in a 2-1 win over hosts Hellas Verona.
Osimene made the difference in a tight match in Verona, heading the visitors ahead in the 14th minute after petting his leg, Reuters reported.
Verona put a lot of pressure on after the break, as Osimhen felt the effects of one of Verona’s many strong challenges, before the Napoli top scorer recovered to double his side’s lead with 19 minutes remaining.
The spirited Verona refused to give up and headed back into the match with captain David Farone, but Federico Ceccherini’s dismissal for two bookable fouls seven minutes from the end ended their hopes of completing the turnaround.
The victory raised Luciano Spalletti, the title holder, to 60 points from 29 games, three points ahead of leaders Milan, and two points ahead of Inter, who will play with Torino later on Sunday. Verona stay ninth.
His defeat at home to AC Milan last week dampened Napoli’s hopes of securing their first Scudetto in 32 years, but with Osimhen back in shape and form, they have every chance to push Milan’s clubs to the limit.
“I think after the defeat against Milan everyone was upset, so we entered a difficult ground in front of a team organized with determination and desire to win, it is a deserved victory,” he told DAZN.
“In order to win the Scudetto, we have to try to win every game this season. Today was a step towards our goal and I think we can achieve that.”