Newly crowned African Player of the year,Victor Osimhen scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League as Napoli eased into the knockout stages with a 2-0 home win over Sporting Braga on Tuesday.
Osimhen broke a 24-year old jinx to become the first Nigerian to be crowned as African Player of the year after Kanu Nwankwo.
The forward who was instrumental to Napoli winning the Scudetto last season missed training due to his presence in Morocco, but Walter Mazzari kept in him and gave him a starting lineup.
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In the ninth minute, Matteo Politano’s pass into the box was converted into his own goal by Serdar Saatci, giving Napoli the lead.
Victor Osimhen backheeled a cross from Natan and then managed to shove the loose ball into the net in the 33rd minute to seal qualification for Napoli, who could afford to lose by one goal. Braga would have to score four goals without answering.
When Rodrigo Zalazar’s backheel in the box dropped to Bruma, the Portuguese were first out of the blocks and gave an early warning, but the striker missed the post with his shot.
Saatci’s effort at a block hooked his heel and sailed over the custodian Matheus, who raced to claw it away, but the referee signalled that the ball had over the line, giving Braga a sucker punch in the form of an own goal.
In the 25th minute, Andre Horta had a chance to tie the score when he had time and space to fire from distance, but keeper Alex Meret misdirected the shot for a corner, giving Osimhen the advantage.
Before the half, Bruma had one more opportunity, but his low shot in the 44th minute went straight at the goalie.
Walter Mazzarri, the manager of Napoli, was able to remove Osimhen and Politano in the second half without jeopardising the outcome.
Mazzarri, who took over for Rudi Garcia in November, witnessed his team bounce back from three straight losses.
The Serie A champion Napoli team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League the previous season before being eliminated by AC Milan, another Italian team.
With 10 points, the Italian team finished second in Group C, eight points behind Real Madrid, while Braga secured third place and Europa League football with four points. Union Berlin finished last with two points after losing 3-2 to Real Madrid.