October 12, (THEWILL) – Victor Osimhen marked his substitute return to the Napoli side with the last goal as the I Partenopei clinched a thrilling victory over Ajax to advance to the UEFA Champions League’s knockout rounds.
Hirving Lozano’s looping header into the far corner and Giacomo Raspadori’s left-footed drive into the roof of the net gave them an early two-goal advantage. In the second half, Davy Klaasen cut the deficit for Ajax but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s unjustly given penalty for handball against Jurrien Timber restored Napoli’s two-goal cushion.
After Juan Jesus was found to have fouled Brian Brobbey late in the game, the visitors were awarded a penalty of their own, which Steven Bergwijn converted to make for a tense conclusion.
Osimhen helped to restore calm when he forced Daley Blind into a mistake and scored his first UCL goal of the season by tapping the ball into the empty net.
As a result, Napoli is currently in a strong position to top Group A ahead of Liverpool. Osimhen’s scoring return means he will likely start on Sunday against Bologna. On the same day, Ajax host Excelsior in the Eredivisie.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
