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African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen played an important role in Napoli's return to winning ways in the Serie A.
Nigeria Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has earned the praise of his manager Walter Mazzarri after an inspirational outing against Cagliari in the Serie A.
Osimhen was in fine form as Napoli secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Cagliari to return to winning ways after a run of two successive defeats in the league.
![[Watch]: Victor Osimhen's unbelievable assist for Napoli winner against Cagliari](https://sportal365images.com/process/smp-images-production/ringier.africa/16122023/d98a8023-f7e6-4a15-b90e-cb41740a097b.jpg?operations=fit(:350))
20:51 - 16.12.2023
[Watch]: Victor Osimhen's unbelievable assist for Napoli winner against Cagliari
Victor Osimhen's inspired SSC Napoli to a crucial victory against a stubborn Cagliari in the Serie A.
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09:36 - 16.12.2023
Napoli vs Cagliari: Match preview, team news and prediction
Napoli, the defending champions, have experienced a somewhat inconsistent season under Walter Mazzarri, facing challenges in maintaining their form.
Osimhen shines for Napoli
The 24-year-old ended a run of three successive matches in the Italian Serie A without a goal with a performance that saw him score one and assist the winner.
In a remarkable six-minute spell that saw Diego Armando Maradona Stadium witness three beautiful goals, the Nigerian opened the scoring with a header in the 69th minute before setting up partner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for the decisive winning goal six minutes later.
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After the match, Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri was a relieved man as his club sealed an important win.
Mazzarri also expressed happiness to see the reigning African and Italian Player of the Year and his partner in crime, Kvara, on the score sheet having seen both players become irritable having gone five matches without a game in the Serie A.
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“This was a very important win, we needed to get back on track because we are Napoli,” Mazzarri stated per Football Italia.
It would’ve started an ugly situation if we hadn’t won today, as the belief of the squad could’ve been put to the test.
I am glad that he and Kvara scored because they were both looking a bit irritable,” he added. “They needed to get back to being protagonists the way they were last season.
I can’t blame the team for getting tense, as it felt like in the first half the goal was cursed. When strikers are not relaxed, they can make really simple mistakes.
After the performance against Cagliari, Nigeria’s Osimhen did not just prove why he is the best in Africa and Italy but also added to his goal contributions.
He has now scored seven goals and provided two assists in 13 matches this season for Napoli in the Serie A.
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