By Sedara Philip
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen is just two strikes from becoming the greatest African player to play in the Italian top-flight league after he scored twice to help champions in-waiting Napoli to a 4-0 win over Torino.
Having scored twice during the week to help the Gli Azzurri reach their maiden UEFA Championship league quarterfinals, the 24-year-old was keen on heading to the International break with blazing form.
The Nigerian however needed just nine minutes to open the scoring as he continued to show his ariel dominance; heading home from a Piotr Zielinski corner to make it 1-0 to his side.
The goal Osimhen to 20 league goals making him the fourth Napoli player in the De Laurentiis era to have scored 20+ goals in a single Serie A campaign, after Cavani, HiguaÃn, and Mertens.
Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then doubled their lead ten minutes before the break when he scored from the spot to give Napoli a commanding 2-0 halftime lead.
Six minutes into the second half Osimhen grabbed his brace and Napoli’s third, heading home again but this time from a Mathias Olivera cross.
With the goal, the Nigerian equaled Samuel Eto’s 21 goals a-season record by an African player and also became the first player to score two-headed braces in a single Serie A season since Alberto Gilardino in the 2009/10 campaign.
Midfielder Tanguy Ndombèlè then rounded up the win as he scored eight minutes after the hour mark to make it 4-0 and move Napoli up to a staggering 71 points, the most point by any team in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Osimehn was withdrawn with a quarter of an hour to go as he took his league tally to 21 goals from 23 games whilst also adding 4 assists.
