Osimhen eyes 60th Napoli goal in season opener

Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen could score his 60th goal for Napoli as they begin their Scudetto defence on Saturday (today) against promoted Frosinone.

Osimhen will be keen to replicate last season’s form in the 2023/24 season and set a new landmark by scoring his 60th goal for Napoli against the newly promoted side.

The Nigeria international has scored 59 goals in 101 appearances for the Partenopei while providing 14 assists across three seasons at the club.

While the hosts have returned to Italy’s top flight for the third time in 10 years, their first visitors stormed to the title last term; ending 33 years of wait with Osimhen at the center of the triumph.

Lifting the Scudetto for the first time since 1990 brought both relief and joy to the one-club city of Naples last season, as a scintillating Napoli side wrapped up top spot in Serie A with five games to spare.

Although a barnstorming start to the 2022/23 campaign began to falter in the spring, stars such as Osimhen – who was crowned Capocannoniere after racking up 26 Serie A strikes and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (12 goals and 10 assists in the league) – were ultimately rewarded for their brilliance; leaving runners-up Lazio and the rest of Italy’s giants trailing in their wake.

After such a stellar campaign, in which they also suffered a disappointing Champions League exit to Milan after sprinting through the group stage, Napoli then lost their cherished coach Luciano Spalletti, who is now set to take on the task of managing Italy.

Another ex-Roma boss, Rudi Garcia, was considered by many to be an underwhelming replacement, but the Partenopei’s successful pre-season suggests they may be able to put up a reasonable defence of their title.

Napoli rounded off their warm-up schedule with wins over Augsburg and Apollon Limassol with Osimhen finding the back of the net in the latter fixture.

They now tackle their first Serie A fixture having won each of their last six games on matchday one – already a club record.

Serie B champions Frosinone will host the Scudetto holders with some trepidation; having lost all four of the clubs’ previous top-flight meetings Napoli, conceding 15 goals in the process.