Thanks to Victor Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, Napoli took another step towards the club’s first Scudetto since 1990 on Sunday. The Nigerian and Georgian form one of the deadliest duos on European fields this season.
Napoli won convincingly against Spezia on Sunday afternoon: Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring from the penalty spot and Osimhen scored two goals. The Nigerian top scorer in Serie A made his second goal on the instructions of his attacking partner Kvaratskhelia.
“Kvara and Osimhen come from another planet,” wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport after the victory over Spezia. “The Martians of Napoli continue their mission. Soon they will be terrifying again in the Champions League as well.” Napoli will play the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League against Eintracht Frankfurt on February 21 in Naples.
Corriere dello Sport speaks of an ‘extraordinary’ Napoli and saw the team of trainer Luciano Spalleti ‘destroy’ Spezia on the basis of Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia. Tuttosport calls Napoli ‘elusive’ at the top of Serie A. The gap with closest pursuer Internazionale is no less than thirteen points.
Scoring machines Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia appear to be among the three most successful offensive tandems in the European top competitions, given their goal production. The Napoli pair have scored 24 joint goals in Serie A so far: Osimhen (sixteen) and Kvaratskhelia (eight). With that, the Nigerian and the Georgian, also good for eleven assists, remain just behind two offensive couples.
Erling Haaland (25 goals) and Phil Foden (seven) have already scored 32 Premier League goals for Manchester City. Behind that come Kylian Mbappé and Neymar with a combined 25 Ligue 1 goals for PSG. Mbappé has so far made thirteen, Neymar twelve. Both attackers are currently injured. Their other partner Lionel Messi scored his tenth league goal against Toulouse on Saturday.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Everyone at Juventus is still getting used to looking at the standings in Serie A. Because of the penalty of fifteen minus points, they are in thirteenth place. Trainer Massimiliano Allegri once again repeated the objective: enforcement.
Allegri’s formation has only nine points more than Hellas Verona, which is below the relegation line. “We first have to reach the 40-point limit,” the trainer continued. “It may be a joke, but we should first think about survival and take it step by step.”
“We need to start setting small goals for ourselves,” Allegri added. “First the goal must be to overtake Fiorentina (the number twelve). And then the teams that are above it. That way we will win matches and the pressure will remain high towards the matches for the Coppa Italia and the Europa League.”
