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Luciano Spalletti has lamented the loss of Victor Osimhen to injury and explains how Dries Mertens replacing the lanky forward will never quite be the same for Napoli against Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio on Sunday.
This has been a tough week for the Partenopei, who lost both in Serie A to Inter and the Europa League away to Spartak Moscow.
Above all, they lost Victor Osimhen for three months after a clash of heads that left multiple facial fractures.
Lorenzo Insigne and Fabian Ruiz are back in the side and ready to start, but Osimhen is harder to fill in for.
“Osimhen is a unique player, as he has all the qualities and characteristics of a great striker, he just needs to refine his technique. In terms of technique and positioning, Mertens rarely gets it wrong, but if he has to sprint for 70 metres or go for a header, it’s not going to be the same thing.”
The coach was irritated with suggestions Napoli would now fall apart without the Nigerian striker.
“This squad is of a certain level, we already missed Dries Mertens for the first few games and had limited midfielders available, but we still got the results we wanted,” said Spalletti in his press conference.
“We have nothing to prove, we just have to work every day and do what needs to be done. Our last few results haven’t been what we wanted, while Lazio are among the group of seven or so teams challenging for the same targets.”
This is also a special anniversary, a year on from Diego Armando Maradona’s death, so a life-size statue will be unveiled at the Stadio Maradona.
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