Victor Osimhen missed a penalty as Napoli continued their unbeaten start to life under interim head coach Francesco Calzona on Sunday, recording a second successive Serie A victory for the first time since September 2023.
The latest win, 2-1 at Juventus’ expense, wasn't nearly as comprehensive as the last — a 6-1 thrashing of Sassuolo — but it was still enough to see the reigning Italian champions remain in touching distance of the European places, while simultaneously deflating further what remains of their Turin-based rivals’ already flagging title charge.
The game was ultimately swung Napoli's way by Giacomo Raspadori's 88th-minute effort, but the chance to be match-winner first fell, just moments earlier, to teammate Victor Osimhen.
The Nigeria forward has been in inspired form for his club since suffering AFCON final heartbreak in February, scoring in all three games — a total of five goals, including three in the aforementioned rout in Emilia-Romagna — he'd played between his return from international duty and Juventus’ visit.
Shortly after Federico Chiesa levelled for the guests, Osimhen was presented with a chance to extend his scoring run and re-establish Napoli's lead via a penalty that he had earned himself.
That presented him with a chance to take his only shot of a difficult game, and while Osimhen did land it on target, firing low to Wojciech Szczesny's left, it was far too tame and the Polish goalkeeper had little trouble keeping it out.
Raspadori, thankfully for Napoli, emphatically thumped the resulting rebound home in a trice.
Osimhen with a patchy penalty conversion rate
Relieved as Osimhen was that his colleague showed up to atone for his error, he may well have spent the rest of the evening worrying about his recent penalty record.
The miss against Juventus was his third in Serie A since last season — no player has done worse in that period — and the sixth time overall in his career that the 25-year-old has fluffed his lines in such a situation.
To be fair, for all his incisiveness in front of goal, Osimhen, one of the most precise marksmen in Europe right now, probably doesn't rate his ability from 12 yards among his strongest qualities.
When representing his country, Nigeria, for instance, Osimhen often cedes penalty-taking duties to William Troost-Ekong, a centre-back, who consistently displays a greater knack for dispatching them confidently and successfully — see the Super Eagles’ group stage victory over the Ivory Coast and semi-final clash with South Africa — albeit across a much smaller sample size.
Napoli need Osimhen to step up
At Napoli, though, there seldom is a hiding place for Osimhen, the Partenopei’s star striker. And while a patchy penalty conversion rate of 50% takes little shine off the reputation of a player who sure knows how to beat a goalkeeper, Osimhen certainly appreciates he and Napoli won't always get away with it, even if his failures have seldom proved costly.
Three of his misses in a Napoli shirt have come at a point in games when the score was even, but only on one of those occasions did Osimhen's team eventually fail to win — a trip earlier this season to Bologna that ended in a goalless stalemate.
Still, it would be worth the effort if Osimhen refines his approach to penalties, whether psychologically and/or technically, considering just how reliant Napoli are on his ability to find the back of the net — from open play, yes, but also from the spot
