Simy outscores Osimhen as Napoli edge Crotone in Serie A thriller

TWO Nigerian strikers were on target on Saturday as Napoli and Crotone shared seven goals at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Victor Osimhen scored one goal for Napoli, while Simeon ‘Simy’ Nwankwo bagged a brace for Crotone in the former’s 4-3 Serie A win.

Loretta Insigne scored the game’s first goal in the 19th minute for Napoli and Osimhen, making his first start since recovering from a head injury, made it 2-0 three minutes later.

Simy pulled one back for Crotone in the 25th minute with his 14th Serie A goal of the season.

Belgium forward Dries Mertens made it 3-1 in the 34th minute and Napoli took the two-goal advantage to the break.

Three minutes into the second half, Simy struck again to make it 3-2, before Junior Messias equalised for Crotone in the 59th minute.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo netted the winning goal in the 72nd minute to give Napoli their fourth straight Serie A victory.

Napoli temporarily climbed above Juventus into fourth place with the win, while Crotone stayed bottom of the league.

Remarkably, Simy has scored 15 of Crotone’s 35 Serie A goals this season in 29 appearances. Osimhen has scored four goals in 14 Serie A games for Napoli in a campaign blighted by injuries and illness.