Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has responded to compatriot Ademola Lookman’s comment about catching up to him with a sublime strike in a nailbiting 2-1 win over AS Roma on Sunday.
The strike was the Super Eagles forward’s 14th in the Italian top flight this season, tying his last season’s record in eleven fewer games.
Osimhen and substitute Giovanni Simone scored either side of Stephan El Shaarawy’s strike to claim all three points for the Partenopei and extend their lead in the league standings to 13 points.
In only 16 #SerieA💎 games played this season, @victorosimhen9 has equalled his best tally of goals in a single campaign in Top 5 European leagues.
Baller. pic.twitter.com/NiCTgkSEd1
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) January 30, 2023
Before the weekend round of matches, Lookman was buoyant about his chances of catching up to his international teammate.
He told the Athletic: “I’m so focused on now. For me, the now is most important in terms of how I can influence today and tomorrow.”
“I used to think about the future; you can get caught up in the future, and the future will always come, but the most important thing is to live in the present.”
When asked if they contact each other after scoring, the 25-year-old said:
“No, not when he’s above you, anyway”
“I will catch him. Not I might, I will”, Lookman said emphatically.
The former Leicester City forward is enjoying a good run of form himself. His strike in Atalanta’s 2-0 win over Sampdoria on Saturday was his 12th goal in Serie A this season.
Osimhen, on the other hand, is just two goals ahead of Lookman, but the hardworking forward doesn’t look like he is slowing down anytime soon, as his finish against Roma was worthy of a Puskas award.
The Super Eagles duo are two of only three African players to have reached double figure goals in the first 19 games in the Serie A, joining Cameroon and Inter Milan legend Samuel Eto’o, who scored 12 goals in that time frame in the 2010-11 season.
Osimhen and Napoli will travel to 17th-placed Spezia on Sunday, while Lookman will hope to help his side overcome Italian giants Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals before facing Sassuolo in the league on Saturday.
