By Daniel Edu

Napoli’s manager, Rudi Garcia, remains confident that his star player, Victor Osimhen, will rediscover his goalscoring touch despite a recent lack of goals. Osimhen couldn’t find the back of the net in Napoli’s 2-1 Champions League group stage victory against SC Braga, despite putting up a strong performance. His efforts included hitting the crossbar, being denied a penalty by VAR, and facing multiple saves from Braga’s goalkeeper. Despite not scoring, Osimhen received the Man of the Match award for his overall contribution.

This marks the third consecutive game in which the 24-year-old Nigerian striker has played without scoring, following his impressive three goals in four league games. However, Coach Garcia isn’t concerned about this temporary dip in Osimhen’s goalscoring form.

Looking ahead to Napoli’s upcoming Italian Serie A match against Bologna on Sunday, September 24, Garcia expressed his belief that Osimhen will soon find his scoring form again. He stated, “Osimhen fought hard and ran, it’s what I expect from all my players, that when it comes time to defend, they all help out. The mentality and spirit of the team was good, but unfortunately, we were not able to kill the game off when we had many chances to score that second goal. It would’ve taken the pressure and tension off. We are happy with the result, though. He (Osimhen) started well with two goals in three games, and we hope he can get back on target.”

Napoli will resume their Champions League group stage campaign on October 2 against Real Madrid, the most successful club in the competition. Notably, they head into this crucial match with six of their players on yellow cards, including Victor Osimhen, Matteo Politano, Giacomo Raspadori, Frank Anguissa, Mathia Olivera, and Juan Jesus.