The 26-year-old has lauded the performance of the forward, following his timely goal that saved the Italian outfit from a defeat.
Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret has singled out his ‘special’ teammate Victor Osimhen for praise, after scoring a crucial goal in their 1-1draw with Barcelona in the first leg, round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday night at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
The Nigeria international star levelled for the Italian outfit 15 minutes after Polish striker, Roberto Lewandowski had scored the opening goal in the 60th minute of the game and Meret believed Napoli should not have conceded in the encounter while lauding the effort of Osimhen in rescuing a point for his side.
Speaking to Napoli website, he said, “I’m happy because we managed to hold Barcelona back in the first half an hour. We had the right attitude.
“It’s a shame about the goal we conceded because it was an equal match. Thanks to Victor [Osimhen]’s goal, we managed to level the scores.
“Osimhen is special to us, but even those who were subbed on in the second half brought new energy into the game.
“We’re got to start again from the positive aspects we showed tonight. We need to work to continue down this path and improve.”
Napoli new manager, Francesco Calzona has hailed the response of his team after coming from behind to secure a pivotal draw in his first game in charge this season. The 55-year-old Italian tactician replaced Walter Mazzarri on Tuesday.
The Slovekia manager said, “I want to say well done to the lads. I saw their team spirit and their willingness to fight again. I’m happy with the mentality they showed, but there is obviously a lot of work to be done tactically. I saw a great response in the last half an hour. Even those who came off the bench gave life and energy to the game.
“We allowed Barcelona to cross the lines, which is something you can’t afford to do with a team like this. However, especially after the break, we showed great quality. It’s a good step forward and we’ve got to keep this up. We’ve shown some positive signs.
“The lads have got the right attitude. They gave everything to not fall to a great opponent. Sometimes we were a little disorganised, but if we manage to play to our calibre, we’ll see some great progress. We’re Napoli. We’ve got some problems but we’re a group with huge potential. We’ll put in the work so we can go and play that second leg in Barcelona.”
