Napoli and Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen had a night to forget as he got sent off in Napoli’s 2-0 loss to AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night in the Serie A.
Osimhen was given his marching orders in the 86th minute after receiving his second yellow card of the night as he was adjudged to have fouled Stephan El Shaarawy out of frustration as Roma surged forward.
RED CARD OSIMHEN! NAPOLI HAVE TO PLAY WITH 9 PLAYERS
— FTGOALS (@Fetsport) December 23, 2023
The referee pulled the red card from his pocket, sending the Nigerian off who appeared visibly irritated as he walked into the tunnel.
Osimhen had just extended his contract with Napoli earlier in the day, and was poised to finish the game on a high before an unfortunate red card to Matteo Politano for violent conduct in the 66th minute tilted the game in Roma's favour.
Despite being one man down, Napoli still believed they could get a draw. However, all hopes were dashed as Lorenzo Pellegrini opened the deadlock for the home side 14 minutes from time, drilling home off an El Shaarawy's assist to send the home fans into delirium.
Roma doubled their lead in added time with barely seconds left as Romelu Lukaku finished off from a lightning counter attack to mark his return from suspension with a goal.
The result leaves Napoli outside of the Champions League places in sixth, four points behind Bologna who completes the top four. Roma, meanwhile, moved into fifth, a point above Napoli as a result of the massive three points.
In a match that left much to be desired, much talk will be centered around the various controversial decisions that went down in the course of the game.
Inter Milan still leads the standings going into Christmas; they're four points ahead of second place Juventus, and a further 11 points above neighbours AC Milan in third.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago