Osimhen bags record-breaking brace to send Napoli to Serie A summit

Napoli star striker Victor Osimhen was at the double for the Partenopei as they defeated Udinese 2-1 on Matchday 30 to go top of Serie A.

Napoli were riding the wave of their 2-1 win over Hellas Verona in which Osimhen scored twice, and they headed into the game against Udinese at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona knowing they could not afford to drop points.

Udinese stunned the crowd in Naples with an early opener after only 22 minutes. Former FC Barcelona and Watford forward Gérard Deulofeu received a pass from former Watford teammate Roberto Pereyra before rifling an effort into the far corner, beyond the reach of the diving David Ospina.

Osimhen replied in the 52nd minute of the encounter with a stylish header to draw Napoli level in the game. The 23-year-old striker met a cross by left-back Mario Rui with a powerful header for his 10th Serie A goal of the season. It was also the 700,000th goal in Serie A history.

Shortly after the hour mark, Osimhen doubled his tally in the match with a goal that was similar to his second one against Hellas last week. The striker met a low cross from right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo at the near post, sliding a finish under the Udinese goalkeeper in the 63rd minute.

Udinese finished the game with 10 men after Spanish defender Pablo Mari was shown a straight red card in the 82nd minute.

Napoli held on to claim three precious points that returns them to the summit of Serie A with eight games left in the season.

Osimhen has become the first Nigerian to reach double figures for goals in Serie A in two different seasons. He also became the fourth African to score double figures in consecutive Serie A seasons after George Weah, Samuel Eto’o and Mohamed Salah.