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Tag: Napoli

  • Spalletti compares Super Eagles striker to Maradona

    Spalletti compares Super Eagles striker to Maradona

    Napoli coach, Luciano Spalletti has compared Victor Osimhen with the club’s legend, late Diego Armando Maradona, ahead of his side’s Europa League knockout round playoff tie with Barcelona on Thursday.

    Spalletti said Osimhen has the same ‘animal fury’ as Maradona.

    Osimhen is back on form after recovering from a cheekbone injury, either scoring or assisting in his last three Serie A games for Napoli.

    “With that header against Cagliari, he proved to have a sort of animal fury which is much-needed in key moments,” Spalletti said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the Barcelona clash, according to Football Italia.

    “Maradona had the same thing and somebody else should have it in our team. You can see Osimhen has it when he faces his opponents.

    “He has outstanding characteristics and some extra qualities that are not easy to find in other players,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Napoli played a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the first-leg at Camp Nou last week.

  • Napoli coach praises Victor Osimhen after victory at Venezia

    Napoli coach praises Victor Osimhen after victory at Venezia

    Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti was pleased with their 2-0 win at Venezia.

    Victor Osimhen and Andrea Petagna struck for the visitors.

    “This win gives us that superior awareness, we have the possibility to play good games, to always play to win. Today we brought home an important win on a difficult pitch,” said Spalletti, who was pleased to see Osimhen on the scoresheet.

    “He has the quality, it’s us who have to improve in serving him, not dribbling all the time and not putting the defenders in a position to defend against his qualities.

    “In the first half we played too much man to man and not enough in space, forcing him to have the entire opposing team around him.”

    He added: “Either two defensive midfielders and a trequartista or two mezzali and a deep midfielder makes little difference. The important thing is that we are all more of a team. Then if you put a physical midfielder you lack quality up front.

    “We didn’t play much with Demme, who is very good and builds play well. Lobotka has made important steps forward. He plays well and makes the team play well.”

  • Transfer: Napoli sign Man Utd defender

    Transfer: Napoli sign Man Utd defender

    Serie A side Napoli have signed Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe.

    Tuanzebe joins Napoli on-loan to the end of the season, with the Azzurri taking over the defender’s previous loan with Aston Villa.

    Villa boss Steven Gerrard agreed to cut short Tuanzebe’s deal to allow him to move to Naples.

    Napoli have registered the England U21 international today after he passed a medical on Thursday.

    Tuanzebe is immediately available to coach Luciano Spalletti.

  • Barcelona to face Napoli in Europa League knockout play-offs

    Barcelona to face Napoli in Europa League knockout play-offs

    Barcelona will face Napoli in the Europa League knockout round play-off stage after the Catalan giants crashed out in the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2000-01 season.

    Xavi Hernandez’s Barca will continue their European campaign in the second-tier competition, with the winner of their tie with Napoli advancing to the last 16.

    “Napoli are a great team of real European pedigree. They’ve got a lot of experience so we’re aware it’s going to be really hard,” said Barca director of football Mateu Alemany.

    “Obviously the draw hasn’t been very generous to us but that’s how these competitions are.”

    The first leg will take place at the Camp Nou on February 17 with the return on February 24 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples. The late Argentine great played for both Barca and Napoli during his career.

    Napoli and Barca met in the last 16 of the 2019/20 Champions League, with Barca advancing 4-2 on aggregate.

    “I’d say that our glass is completely full: Barcelona v Napoli and then Napoli v Barcelona will be two great matches at Champions League level!” tweeted Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis.

    The draw for the play-off round, introduced this season as part of a slimmed-down Europa League format, includes the eight runners-up from the group stage and the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.

    Borussia Dortmund were paired together with Rangers in Monday’s draw, setting up a first meeting between the clubs since the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup.

    Rangers coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst played for Rangers in that tie alongside former USA international Claudio Reyna, whose son, 19-year-old Dortmund midfielder Gio, was named after the Dutchman.

    Van Bronckhorst is unbeaten since taking charge at Ibrox, winning five of six matches following Steven Gerrard’s departure for Aston Villa.

    Record six-time winners Sevilla — who will host this season’s final on May 18 — take on Dinamo Zagreb, Porto play Lazio, and RB Leipzig were drawn alongside Real Sociedad.

    The eight Europa League group winners qualified directly for the round of 16. West Ham United, Monaco, Lyon and Bayer Leverkusen are among those teams.

    The away goals rule has been removed from this season’s European competitions, so ties level after 180 minutes will go to extra time, and then penalties if needed.

  • Europa: Napoli midfielder loses tooth in collision with Ndidi

    Europa: Napoli midfielder loses tooth in collision with Ndidi

    Napoli midfielder Hirving Lozano lost a tooth in their Europa League win against Leicester City.

    With half-time approaching, Lozano was forced from the pitch after a nasty collision with Wilfred Ndidi.

    Lozano was running with the ball before his toe stuck in the turf with his head then connecting with Ndidi’s knee, knocking a tooth out of the Mexican’s mouth. An incident similar to the injury he suffered in the Gold Cup with Mexico.

    The referee quickly called for a stretcher onto the pitch and Lozano was fitted with a neck brace before being taken from the field.

  • Napoli Win Thriller To Knock Leicester Out Of Europa League

    Napoli Win Thriller To Knock Leicester Out Of Europa League

    Napoli sent Leicester crashing out of the Europa League as the Italian side advanced to the knockout stages with a 3-2 win in a dramatic conclusion to Group C on Thursday.

    Leicester were top of the group going into the final round of matches, but Brendan Rodgers’ team were condemned to an unwanted place in the Europa Conference League after the defeat in Naples dropped them to third place.

    Napoli had blown a two-goal lead as Leicester hit back to level by half-time, but Eljif Elmas’s second goal of the game won it for the hosts after the interval.

    Spartak Moscow finished top of the group after a 1-0 win at Legia Warsaw, secured by Zelimkhan Bakaev’s 17th-minute goal.

    Leicester would have salvaged their Europa League place if Legia’s Tomas Pekhart hadn’t missed a stoppage-time penalty.

    Napoli ended in second place, two points ahead of Leicester, and will feature in the Europa League knockout round play-offs in February.

    Continuing a disappointing season for the FA Cup holders, Leicester now have the unwanted burden of playing in the knockout play-off round of Europe’s least glamourous club competition when it resumes in the new year.

    “I’ve got to be honest I don’t even know what the competition is,” Rodgers said of the Europa Conference League.

    “I was focused on the Europa League and winning this group and at the very least finishing second. But I am sure we will find out soon enough.”

    Seven Leicester players and three staff members missed the trip to Italy, with Rodgers revealing both positive Covid-19 cases and other illnesses had depleted his squad.

    He was still able to name eight of the team beaten by Aston Villa last weekend, in contrast to Napoli, who are in the midst of a major injury crisis which deprived them of Victor Osimhen, Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne and Fabian Ruiz.

    Despite their fitness issues, Napoli took the lead in the fourth minute as Adam Ounas marked his first start for the club since 2019 with a clinical low strike from just inside the penalty area.

    Napoli struck again in the 24th minute when Andrea Petagna beat Leicester’s offside trap and squared his pass to Elmas, who slotted past Kasper Schmeichel with ease.

  • Super Eagles striker Osimhen set to miss AFCON

    Super Eagles striker Osimhen set to miss AFCON

    Serie A club Napoli have announced that Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen is set to be sidelined for three months with a facial injury.

    It means the 22-year-old will miss the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, which kicks off in fewer than seven weeks’ time on 9 January.

    The Italian side said the striker had surgery on his cheekbone and eye socket on Tuesday, having sustained fractures in the 3-2 defeat by Inter Milan on Sunday.

    Osimhen, who is Napoli’s top scorer this season with nine goals in 14 appearances, was substituted in the 52nd minute following a nasty clash of heads with Inter’s Milan Skriniar.

    “Titanium plates and screws were used in the operation,” said a statement on the Napoli website.

    “The player is doing well and will remain under observation for the next few days.”

    The news will be a blow for both club and country, with Osimhen in a rich vein of form at the moment.

    He has scored five Serie A goals and four more in the Europa League for Napoli this season, and Osimhen netted four times in six games to help Nigeria reach Africa’s World Cup play-offs next March.

    He also finished as joint-top scorer in qualifying for the delayed Nations Cup, with five goals.

  • Victor Osimhen to undergo facial surgery

    Victor Osimhen to undergo facial surgery

    Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, is set to undergo surgery after fracturing his cheekbone in their clash with Inter Milan on Sunday night.

    The Super Eagles star started the game, but came off 10 minutes into the second half due to the injury.

    Osimhen was involved in a clash of heads with Milan defender, Škriniar.

    Tests carried out on the 22-year-old showed multiple displaced fractures of the orbit and left cheekbone.

    Napoli have now confirmed Osimhen will undergo an operation in the next few days.

    An official statement read: “The instrumental tests carried out on Victor Osimhen at the end of the Inter-Napoli match revealed multiple displaced fractures of the orbit and of the left cheekbone.

    “The player will undergo surgery in the next few days and will remain under observation at the Niguarda Hospital in Milan tonight.”

  • Serie A: Victor Osimhen suffers multiple facial fractures

    Serie A: Victor Osimhen suffers multiple facial fractures

    Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has suffered a serious head injury in defeat to Inter Milan.

    Osimhen has been diagnosed with multiple displaced facial fractures after a clash of heads with Inter defender Milan Skriniar.

    The Nigeria international will not undergo surgery.

    Osimhen was taken to the San Raffaele hospital for tests, which showed multiple displaced fractures of the left cheekbone and orbital bone.

    The striker is Napoli’s top scorer with five goals.

  • I’d love to play for a bigger club – Napoli midfielder

    I’d love to play for a bigger club – Napoli midfielder

    Napoli midfielder Hirving Lozano admits he wants to move to a bigger club.

    Lozano has just completed international week with Mexico.

    “I think I play in a very competitive club, with very good teammates, I have grown a lot due to this,” Lozano told TV Azteca Deportes.

    “The truth is, I would love to play at a bigger club. I consider myself a very competitive player, with clear goals.

    “I feel I’m at a good level and I would like to take this new step. However, let’s take one step at a time. Now, I must improve as much as possible, both personally and as a player.

    “Then I hope that, God willing, it can happen.”