Nigeria Players Abroad
Italian legend Luca Toni applauds Osimhen’s striking role against Barcelona
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
The former Italian star, Luca Toni has given his views on Nigeria forward, Victor Osimhen after the latter scored against Spanish side, FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.
Osimhen played his first match for the Italian champions since returning from a silver-winning Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign.
The former LOSC Lille forward canceled out Robert Lewandowski’s opener for the Catalan side to ensure that the first leg of the Round of 16 tie ended in a 1-1 draw.
Toni described Osimhen as a ‘true striker” after the Super Eagles star scored on his return to club duties on Wednesday.
“Osimhen withstood the defender’s impact, protected the ball, turned well, and then in front of the goal, the goalkeeper was wrong-footed,” Toni told Amazon Prime Video as per Tutto Napoli.
“A goal from a true striker. Napoli played a great match; they had a lot to lose, but instead, they emerged from Barcelona’s dominance and demonstrated that they can scare Barcelona.”
The former Juventus and Bayern Munich star applauded Osimhen’s mastery in scoring against the Spanish side.
Osimhen was under the attention of Barcelona’s Inigo Martinez when Cameroon teammate Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa sent him a simple pass which he shielded from Martinez and turned to equalise for the host.
The Italian side will take a draw to Camp Nou in the return leg with confidence of getting a result that will take them to the quarter-final.
