Antonio Conte Suggests Napoli Missed Osimhen During Loss to Lookman’s Atalanta

• Ademola Lookman took matters into his own hands, scoring two goals to help Atalanta beat Napoli 3-0
• Nigerian fans took to social media to claim he avenged Victor Osimhen’s mistreatment in the summer
• Napoli boss Antonio Conte appears to suggest the Neapolitans missed the Super Eagles star in the defeat

Antonio Conte was deflated after his Napoli side were thoroughly beaten 3-0 by Atalanta and appeared to suggest what his team missed during his post-match conference.

Ademola Lookman was on fire as usual, scoring twice in the opening 30 minutes to shred any hope the Neapolitans held, helping his side to a remarkable win.

Nigerians trooped out on social media aiming digs at the Naples-based club, claiming Lookman's exploits were revenge for their mistreatment of Victor Osimhen.

Conte: ‘Napoli missed Osimhen’

After describing what his team lacked, Conte inadvertently admitted that Napoli missed Osimhen during their defeat to Atalanta at Estadio Diego Armando Maradona.

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As noted by Football Italia, the Italian admitted he cannot fault anything in his team's performance against a better side, even though there are areas they could improve.

“I have to be very honest, I thought it was the right performance from the team. There are certainly some situations on the goals that made the difference, where we can do better, but I cannot fault the team for their hunger and attitude,” he told DAZN via Tutto Mercato.

Romelu Lukaku was phased out of the game by the Atalanta defence, and Conte’s analysis suggests they missed a player of Osimhen’s profile on the team.

“It’s inevitable when there are individual duels that Atalanta are very strong. I think we did develop the right situations, but we were lacking in the final ball, whereas Atalanta were very effective there,” he added.

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Napoli boss Conte aims sly dig at Osimhen with Lukaku comments

“They were much better in some situations where they kept the ball, but even then, I felt it was overall quite a balanced game.”

Three key areas the manager highlighted: duel winning, final ball, and ball retention are qualities typical of Osimhen's style of play, making him a big miss for Napoli.

“This is not to say Victor is better than Lukaku, as that is another discussion entirely, but from Conte’s analysis of what Napoli lacked up top in the game, Osimhen has the right profile to fit in. He is a tireless presser, has good linkup and hold-up play, and takes fewer touches to shoot,” a source who pleaded anonymity to protect the relationship told YEN.com.gh

Osimhen break Galatasaray’s jinx

YEN.com.gh reported that Victor Osimhen broke Galatasaray's seven-year jinx with his goal for the Lions in their 2-1 against rivals Besiktas on Monday evening.

The goal meant he had recorded six goal contributions in his first five league games, becoming the first striker at the club to have that number since Bafetimbi Gomis in 2014.

Source: Legit.ng