Osimhen compared to Ronaldo as Eagles star dreams Champions League
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen soars into the night sky to steer in the Napoli opener against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League Round of 16, earning praise and comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo on social media.
The Nigeria international took flight when Matteo Politano swept in the cross from the right, hanging in the air for what felt like an eternity to nod into the top corner.
Stanislav Lobotka also deserves credit for the pass to send Politano running, but all eyes on social media were for Air Osimhen.
His leap earned comparisons with Ronaldo and even basketball legend Michael Jordan.
Osimhen reveals he was happy to hand over the penalty, even if he could’ve scored a hat-trick against Eintracht Frankfurt, and Napoli ‘have the squad’ to win the Champions League.
He became the first Nigerian to score two goals in a Champions League knockout fixture, his brace paving the way for a 3-0 victory on the night, 5-0 on aggregate.
This sends the Partenopei into the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
“It feels good, it feels amazing, it is a huge win. Congratulations to the team for the performance from the whole squad. We want to keep going like this into the next round and we are ready for it.”
“The first goal, I know Politano and when he comes on to his right foot, he will try to get the ball into the box. We have been training for this, so I had to anticipate for this ball.
“On the penalty, Zielinski asked if he could take it and I said of course. I am a team player, it doesn’t matter who scores, as long as the team achieves success. That is the most important thing.
“It’s good to have this mentality from the squad and I am happy with this win.”
Osimhen has been repeatedly linked with a move to the Premier League, but was instead asked if he would like to face Chelsea or Manchester City in the quarter-final, especially as Erling Haaland is the other candidate for top scorer in the competition this season.
“It’s going to be a huge match, it’s going to be great. We are also doing well, we are top club, it’ll be good to have a draw with a very good club. We are ready for it, we are ready for any big team.”
Napoli players believe they really can go all the way in the Champions League, as well as being 18 points clear at the top of the Serie A table.
“I think anything is possible, we have the squad to achieve this dream. Of course we take it step by step and see what happens.”
