SERIE A

Nigeria-born Okafor strikes late to earn Milan draw in six-goal thriller with Sassuolo

Published

3 months ago

April 14, 2024

Serie A - U.S. Sassuolo v AC Milan - Mapei Stadium - Citta del Tricolore, Reggio Emilia, Italy - April 14, 2024 AC Milan's Noah Okafor scores their third goal REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzin

Second-placed AC Milan twice fought back from two goals down to secure a 3-3 draw at relegation-threatened Sassuolo with a late equaliser by substitute Noah Okafor in Serie A on Sunday.

Okafor has a Nigerian father and Swiss mother.

Milan have 69 points, six ahead of Juventus with six matches left. Sassuolo are second-bottom with 26 points. Inter Milan, who host Cagliari later on Sunday, are runaway leaders on 82.

It was a frustrating match for Milan, who dominated possession and chances, particularly for Samuel Chukwueze who had two goals disallowed for offside by a hair’s breadth.

Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli also made several fine saves, notably a sensational early stop when he clawed away Malick Thiaw’s header which was destined for the top corner.

“We tried absolutely everything. We scored three goals and created many more chances. Nobody could have complained if we’d scored five or six today,” Milan boss Stefano Pioli told DAZN.

“I saw errors today but there was nothing wrong with the attitude and I’d not say we were distracted by other issues,” he added ahead of Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final return leg at AS Roma

Milan also meet Inter on April 22 in a match that could potentially secure the Nerazzurri their 20th league title.

“Clearly, Inter will win the Scudetto. We’ll do everything we can to win the derby. That’s to make our fans happy, to confirm second place and that’s a prestigious target,” Pioli said.

MILAN SHOCKED

Sassuolo shocked Milan after four minutes when the unmarked Andrea Pinamonti volleyed home from close range after a fine cross was flicked on with his heel by Kristian Thorstvedt.

Armand Lauriente then doubled the lead six minutes later after sprinting into the box and striking a shot that was blocked by keeper Marco Sportiello but rebounded into the path of the Sassuolo striker for an easy finish.

Rafael Leao revived Milan’s chances with a goal in the 20th minute when he went on a solo run, slipped past two defenders and slotted the ball into the far corner of the net.

The excitement continued as Lauriente scored again eight minutes after the break before Milan’s Luka Jovic pulled one back just before the hour mark from close range.

Sassuolo looked exhausted near the end of the match, with Milan creating several chances but Consigli stood strong.

However, in the 84th minute Okafor received the ball inside the box and secured a hard-fought point for the visitors with a well-placed shot two minutes after coming on.

The late equaliser saved Milan’s blushes ahead of their visit to Roma on Thursday with a 1-0 advantage as they try to clinch a place in the Europa League semi-finals.

“Roma played very well at San Siro, whereas we were below our usual level. If we play to our level then I expect it to be a balanced encounter and incidents can make the difference,” Pioli said.

-Reuters

SERIE A

Ademola Lookman wins Atalanta’s ‘Player of The Season Award

Published

4 weeks ago

June 27, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Nigeria’s Super Eagles winger and silver medal winner with the country at the last AFCON 2023 tournament in Cote D’Ivoire, Ademola Lookman, has emerged as the Atalanta Player of the Season.

The pint-size forward has won the converted award Back-to-back with the Bergamo-based side after his exploit in the domestic and European matches for the side.

Atalanta qualified for two finals with the Nigerian International playing an active role in the campaign.

He was instrumental to Atalanta winning the UEFA Europa League beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final with the Nigerian scoring all the goals.

The club announced on its official website on Thursday saying, “It’s him again, Ademola Lookman! The reigning champion defends his title and is crowned straight-a student for the second year in a row after staving off an unsparing competition, to the point of both bringing the contest to an overtime runoff and stepping the pose down up to the Instagram profile after the regular session ended in a tie. Kudos to Mola for his back-to-back Player of the Season!” it noted.
It went further that,” building on his 17 goals and 11 key passes in all competitions (making him the team’s second-best seasonal scorer and wingman) and with the hat-trick scored in the magical Dublin final as his main leg-up, Lookman tips the ItalianOptic branded crown once again,” the web remarked.

Aside from Ademola, the second and third-best positions were also announced as the midfield duo of Jose dos Santo Éderson and Teun Koopmeiners.

The Nigerian had a brilliant AFCON experience with Nigeria where he scored three goals and his exploits so far have put him in strong contention to win the next ‘African Footballer of the Year’ award which will come up before the end of the year at a venue yet to be announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen is the reigning winner of the award alongside Asissat Oshoola who retained the version.

SERIE A

Napoli reduces Victor Osimhen’s value

Published

1 month ago

June 24, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Former Serie A champions Napoli are reportedly ready to drop their asking price for Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen as his future grows ever more uncertain.

The 25-year-old is looking for a move away from Serie A but Napoli’s initial €150M release clause has warned off any potential suitors.

Quoting from another Italian outlet, Calciomercato, Getfootballnewsitaly reports that Napoli are ready to lower the initial valuation to €100M, in the hope that they can free up much needed transfer funds for new boss Antonio Conte, who is understood to be desperate to land Belgian international striker Romelu Lukaku this summer.

It is also stated that the English Premier League sides, Chelsea who were understood to be in pole-position to sign the Nigerian international, has never opened any negotiation with the 2023 Serie A champions.

The only avenues open at this time seem to be the Saudi Pro-League, where a reported salary of €40M a season has been offered, or Paris Saint-Germain, with Osimhen not keen on either option, preferring a move to the English Premier League.

SERIE A

Osimhen’s Napoli European hopes end with 0-0 draw against Lecce

Published

2 months ago

May 27, 2024

Kunle Solaja

If Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen remains in Napoli in the next season, he will not have any action in UEFA competitions.

Napoli lost their slim chances to participate in European competitions next season when they were held to a 0-0 home draw by Lecce in their last Serie A game of the campaign on Sunday.

Last season’s champions Napoli finished 10th on 53 points, level with ninth-placed Torino who were beaten 3-0 at Atalanta in a simultaneous kick off on Sunday.

Despite their loss, Torino can now still earn a Europa Conference League playoffs spot if eighth-placed Fiorentina, who have a game in hand, win the Europa Conference League.

Fiorentina face Greece’s Olympiacos for the title on Wednesday.

Napoli needed a win to maintain their European hopes but despite 24 shots, five of them on target, they ended their disappointing campaign winless in their last seven games.

Substitute Cyril Ngonge had a good chance to give Napoli the lead just after the break but his shot from the edge of the box was saved by Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone.

Jens Cajuste hit the far post with a low strike shortly before Ngonge hit the bar in the 64th minute.

Europa League winners Atalanta, meanwhile, secured at least fourth spot after Gianluca Scamacca, Ademola Lookman and Mario Pasalic were all on target in a 3-0 win against Torino.

They sit fourth on 69 points but can still leapfrog third-placed Juventus, on 71 points, if they beat Fiorentina in their last remaining game next Sunday.

-Reuters