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By Anthony Nlebem.
Following their impressive run in the 2022/23 Serie A season, Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti and Nigeria international Victor Osimhen have set a Champions League target.
The Partenopei are on course to win their first Scudetto in 33 years and enjoy 13 points lead at the top of the standings, won 18 of their 21 league games of the season, drawn two and lost one.
The 24-year-old Nigerian striker scored a brace as Napoli dispatched Spezia 3-0 in a dominant match on Sunday to increase his goal tally to 16 in 17 appearances.
The Nigerian forward is now the fourth Napoli player to score 16 goals in the first 21 Serie A games of the season following in the footsteps of Luis Vinicio in 1955-56, Edinson Cavani in 2012-13 and Gonzalo Higuain in 2015-16.
According to Italian media, Gazzetta dello Sport, the Napoli striker has stated his intention of winning the Champions League title with Napoli.
The paper reported that Osimhen had already disclosed this to Azzurri president Aurelio De Laurentiis in their first meeting before signing the contract that currently binds him until 2025.
“I want to win the Champions League,” Osimhen told De Laurentiis on that occasion.
Spalletti hailed the team mentality and assured them they have every intention of going for Champions League glory too.
“You can either stick or twist and we’ve made our decision,” the Italian tactician told Sky Sport Italia.
Parthenopeans finished top of their Champions League group stage with 15 points from six matches and are also preparing for the Round of 16 matches against Eintracht Frankfurt on February 21 and Spalletti is aiming to take each day as it comes or go for it all.
“There are moments in life when you achieve results and then you can either stick or twist. We have no doubts about that, we have made our decision to gamble for double, going to attack every game and trying to achieve something for the love of these fans who were all praying for us today. We must be proud of the love Neapolitans have for us and translate that onto the pitch.”