Osimhen fires blanks but Napoli capitalise on Juventus’ slip for 3rd spot with narrow Torino victory

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen was unable to find the back of the net on Saturday as Napoli picked up a slim 1-0 away victory over Torino. 

Fabian Ruiz saved the blushes of Napoli captain Lorenzo and the entire Napoli team with his 73rd-minute goal after Insigne had missed from the penalty spot earlier in the second half. 

Napoli are now assured of a Champions League spot for next season and need just one victory from their remaining two league games to ensure they finish third and above Juventus on the Serie A table.

Osimhen was looking to build on his goal and assist against Sassuolo last weekend to score in consecutive Serie A matches for the first time since mid-March.

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However, the 23-year-old could not convert any of his three (3) shots against Torino at the Torino Olympic Stadium, forcing two saves out of Etrit Berisha in the Torino goal while his third shot was off target. 

The Super Eagles striker was a handful to handle as always, bossing the Torino defence by winning ten (10) of 16 duels that he contested and drawing four (4) fouls from the opponents.

Despite his relentless running, Osimhen was often left isolated resulting in only 64% accurate passes to other teammates. 

The Nigerian international was unable to add to his 13 league goals so far this season before being replaced with Andrea Petagna in the 89th minute as Napoli sought to close out the win.

Napoli have now garnered 73 points from 36 league games, five points behind league leaders Inter Milan from the same number of games.

Juventus are three points behind Napoli on the log following the Bianconeri's shock 2-1 loss at Genoa last night. 

The result puts Napoli in pole position to finish in the third position in the league, with only three points from their outstanding league matches against Genoa (H) and Spezia (A) required to achieve the third spot. 

Napoli will host Genoa at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Sunday, May 15 before travelling to the Alberto Picco Stadium on Sunday, May 22 to take on Spezia on the final matchday of the 2021/22 Serie A season.