Osimhen nets brace, sets new personal record as Napoli thrash Spezia

Victor Osimhen continued his fine run of form as he found the net twice to help Napoli record a 3-0 win on the road against Spezia. The win takes the Partenopei to 56 points from 21 matches in the Serie A this season.

Coming into the match on the back of a rich run of form, Napoli were surprisingly shackled in the first half of the encounter. The league leaders managed only one shot on target against the struggling Spezia side before turning things around in the second half.

Just ten seconds into the second half, Spezia gifted Napoli the lead after Arkadiusz Reca inadvertently handled the ball in his box. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia stepped up and fired home the resulting penalty for his eighth goal of the season to put his side ahead.

Shortly after the hour mark, Osimhen thought he had doubled his side’s advantage as he hassled Mattia Caldara and fired the ball into the back of the net, only for the referee’s whistle to indicate that he had been too rough on the Italian defender.

Six minutes later, however, there was to be no denying Osimhen a 15th league goal of the season. The striker leapt high above the goalkeeper and defenders to head home a deflected cross in the 68th minute and put his side two goals up.

Within five minutes, Osimhen scored his second of the game after combining with Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian winger pounced upon a loose pass from the Spezia defence before squaring for Osimhen to fire home his seventh goal in the last five games. The 24-year-old has now scored 16 goals in 17 league games for Napoli this season, reaching a new personal best tally for goals in a league season in his career.

Napoli are 16 points clear of second-place Inter Milan in Serie A with the Milan Derby still to come this weekend.