Victor Osimhen was visibly furious with Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti when substituted during yesterday’s home win against 10-man Inter in a Serie A tie at the Stadio Maradona.
The Nigeria international who is the current Capocannoniere of Serie A with 23 goals this season, was hoping to further add to his tally but just after Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa opened the scoring, Spalletti decided to make a double substitution, hauling off Osimhen and Eljif Elmas for Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone.
Osimhen did not take the decision at all well, removing his iconic protective mask and repeatedly shouting ‘Why? Why?’ towards Spalletti and the coaching staff as he walked off the field.
But two more goals from Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Gianluca Gaetano late into the match eventually earned champions Napoli a 3-1 home win against 10-man Inter Milan.
Napoli have now beaten all 19 Serie A teams in a single season for the first time.
The visitors’ task became more difficult when Roberto Gagliardini was sent off after receiving a second booking four minutes before the interval for a late challenge on Anguissa.
Anguissa opened the scoring in the 67th minute when he received the ball unmarked inside the box, turned and volleyed into the far bottom corner of the net.
Romelu Lukaku equalised with a precise tap-in from six yards out in the 82nd minute. However, Napoli captain Di Lorenzo expertly curled a superbly placed shot into the far top corner from outside the box three minutes later.
Gaetano then scored the third for the hosts four minutes into stoppage time as he faced Inter keeper Andre Onana in a one-on-one and finished calmly.