Serie A: Victor Osimhen Becomes Highest Scoring African Player Of All Time

Victor Osimhen’s second-half equaliser against Udinese sealed Napoli’s first Scudetto title in 33 years.

The Nigerian, leading the race for the Italian Serie A golden boot, netted in the 52nd minute to cancel Sandi Lovric’s first-half strike, a goal that sent fans into raptures in Naples. His goal made today made him the highest scoring African player of all time in the history of Serie A.

Osimhen’s title-deciding strike was his 22nd goal in 28 league appearances and rightly caused bedlam among the massed ranks of away fans who took over the Dacia Arena in Udine.

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Recall, On 31 July 2020, Serie A club Napoli announced the signing of Osimhen, for a club-record fee of €70 million potentially rising to €80 million with add-ons, making him the most expensive African transfer to date. On 17 October, Osimhen scored his first goal for Napoli in a 4–1 win against Atalanta.

On 12 October 2022, Osimhen scored his first Champions League goal with Napoli in a 4–2 win over Ajax, which secured their qualification to the knockout phase. On 29 October, he scored his first Serie A hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Sassuolo. On 11 November, he scored a goal and assisted another to help Napoli win 2–1 at Atalanta, becoming Nigeria’s highest goal scorer in the Italian Serie with 32 goals, and surpassing Simy’s record of 31.

On 13 January 2023, Osimhen scored two and assisted another as Napoli beat Juventus 5–1. On 17 February 2023, he scored his 100th career goal to help Napoli win 2–0 at Sassuolo. He also became the first ever player in the history of Napoli in the three-point era to score in seven league games in a row.

In the Champions League round of 16, Osimhen scored three goals over two legs for Napoli against Eintracht Frankfurt, which ended in a 5–0 win on aggregate and a first-time qualification to the quarter-finals. On 4 May, he scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Udinese, confirming Napoli as Serie A champions for the first time in 33 years.