Napoli’s captain, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, has stated that his team can manage without their leading scorer, Victor Osimhen, in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final match against AC Milan. The highly-anticipated game is set to take place at the San Siro Stadium on Wednesday (today).
Osimhen, who has been instrumental in Napoli’s success this season, sustained a muscle injury while representing Nigeria during the international break last month. The injury has kept him out of action since then, making him unavailable for today’s game.
Despite the Nigerian’s absence, Di Lorenzo has expressed confidence in his team’s ability to perform well. He acknowledged that Osimhen is a key player for Napoli, but he insisted that the team has other players who can step up and fill the void left by the forward.
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Di Lorenzo said, “We know that Osimhen is a great player and he is very important for us, but we don’t depend only on one player. We have full confidence in the available players. So we are calm from this point of view. Osimhen is important for us, but he won’t be there in this match, and therefore, we will face them with the players we have.”
Napoli has already faced AC Milan once this season, and it was a disastrous encounter for them. The Parthenopeans were thrashed 4-0 by Milan in a Serie A match last month, with Osimhen absent due to injury. However, Di Lorenzo believes that his team has learned from that defeat and will be better prepared for today’s game.
Napoli is currently leading the Serie A table, and they have also been impressive in the Champions League this season. Osimhen has played a significant role in their success, scoring four goals in five appearances in the competition. However, his absence will force manager Luciano Spalletti to reshuffle his squad and find alternative options to lead the attack.
Spalletti has a wealth of attacking talent to choose from, including the likes of Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, and Hirving Lozano. Mertens has been a long-serving member of Napoli’s squad and has scored some crucial goals for the team in the past. Insigne, on the other hand, has been in fantastic form this season, scoring 15 goals in all competitions so far. Lozano has also been impressive, scoring eight goals in Serie A this season.
Napoli’s defense has been solid this season, and they will need to be at their best to keep Milan’s attacking threats at bay. Milan has been in good form themselves and will be looking to take advantage of Osimhen’s absence to secure a crucial home win.
The absence of Osimhen will undoubtedly be a significant blow for Napoli, but Di Lorenzo’s comments suggest that the team is not overly concerned about it. Napoli has a strong squad and will be hoping to showcase their quality in today’s game. Milan will be a tough opponent, but if Napoli can produce their best form, they will fancy their chances of securing a positive result.
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In conclusion, Napoli’s captain, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, has expressed confidence in his team’s ability to perform well without their talismanic forward, Victor Osimhen, in their Champions League quarter-final clash against AC Milan. While Osimhen’s absence is undoubtedly a significant blow, Napoli has other attacking options to call upon, and they will be hoping to produce a better performance than their last encounter with Milan. The game promises to be a thrilling encounter, and fans of both teams will be eagerly anticipating the outcome.
