King of the air: Osimhen leads Napoli to victory against Success’ Udinese

The Nigerian star is now second behind Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane in Europe’s top five leagues in a vital statistic

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen scored his ninth Serie A goal of the season in Napoli’s 3-2 victory over Udinese.

Napoli were looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the Serie A when they welcomed Udinese to the Diego Maradona Stadium.

Partenopeans boss Luciano Spalletti handed Osimhen his fifth consecutive start while Success was introduced into the game for Udinese after Gerard Deulofeu sustained an injury in the 25th minute.

Osimhen started the onslaught for the Partenopeans after just 15 minutes. The 23-year-old potent hitman jumped highest to meet a cross and sent a powerful header past Marco Silvestri in the Udinese goal.

Piotr Zielinski then gave Napoli a two-goal cushion before the break with a belter from inside the box.

Eljif Elmas then scored the third for Napoli 13 minutes into the second half.

The Partenopeans looked like they were cruising to an eleventh-straight win but Udinese gave them a late scare.

Success assisted Ilija Nestorovski’s goal for Udinese in the 79th minute to make it 3-1. Then Lazar Samardzic scored Udinese’s second three minutes later to ensure a frenetic end to the game.

However, Napoli held on strong to see out the 3-2 result.

Success had a decent outing, registering 38 touches, 70 percent pass accuracy, and one key pass.

Meanwhile, Osimhen’s header ensures that Harry Kane(9) is the only striker in Europe with more headed goals. The Super Eagles star has scored eight headers this season.