Serie A: Ex-Napoli striker blasts Osimhen for penalty miss against Juve

Former Napoli striker Stefan Schwoch has criticised Victor Osimhen for missing too many penalties. The Nigerian striker missed a penalty against Juventus last Sunday.

Towards the end of the match, it seemed Napoli and Juventus would settle for a 1-1 draw in their Seria A Matchday 27 fixture. However, Oshimen won a penalty for Francesco Calzona’s men in the 88th minute at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

The 2023 CAF African Footballer of the Year took it upon himself to take the penalty, but his weak kick was easily saved by Wojciech Szczęsny, allowing Giacomo Raspadori to pounce on the rebound and save the day.

This miss adds to Osimhen’s recent struggles from the spot, having now missed three out of his last seven attempts—a record Schwoch has criticised as too costly.

“It’s impossible not to save it (Osimhen’s penalty), given his body posture. Three errors out of seven attempts from the spot are too many,” Schwoch said on Tuesday, on an Italian TV program, Il bello del Calcio.

“There are phenomenal players who, however, aren’t skilled from eleven metres. Osimhen appears to be one of them,” Schwoch concluded.

Despite being away for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Osimhen leads Napoli’s scoring chart of the 2023/24 season, with 13 goals in 21 matches, followed by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (nine goals in 32 matches) and Matteo Politano (seven goals in 33 matches).

Meanwhile, Osimhen’s goals (26 goals in 32 appearances) last season heavily contributed to Napoli winning the Scudetto for the first time in over three decades. His goals saw him win the Capocannoniere as the first African to do so.