Head coach Rudi Garcia says Victor Osimhen is “invested 100%” in Napoli after the striker scored in the first game since he was mocked by the club on social media.
Osimhen scored his side’s second goal in a comfortable win against Udinese, but made no attempt to celebrate before he was mobbed by his team-mates.
Napoli shared a video, since deleted, on their TikTok account showing Osimhen missing a penalty, with a high-pitched voice saying “gimme penalty please” dubbed over the top.
Osimhen’s agent has threatened to take legal action against Napoli.
“I can assure you that Victor loves this jersey,” Garcia said. “He is invested 100% in our project.
“I have a very good relationship with Victor. I am happy for him because he scored tonight. After the match in Bologna, we were all frustrated, angry, Victor in particular, because he missed the penalty.
“On the sporting aspect and on other levels, especially on TikTok, there have been a lot of things to manage in recent days.”
The Serie A champions opened the scoring when Piotr Zielinski converted from the penalty spot after referee Gianluca Manganiello was sent to the screen by video assistant referee following a foul on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Osimhen then collected a pass from Matteo Politano and slotted past Udinese goalkeeper Marco Silvestri six minutes before half-time.
Kvaratskhelia hit the post twice early in the second half before pouncing on an error from Jaka Bijol to race clear, dink the ball over Silvestri and roll it home to end a run of 17 games without a goal.
A fine solo effort from Lazar Samardzic got one back for Udinese with 10 minutes remaining but just a minute later Giovanni Simeone, on to replace Osimhen, restored Napoli’s three-goal advantage.
The win moves fifth-placed Napoli to within four points of leaders Inter Milan.
Line-ups
Napoli
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Meret
- 22Di Lorenzo
- 55Østigård
- 3Bernardo de Souza
- 6Mário Rui
- 99Zambo AnguissaSubstituted forRaspadoriat 83′minutes
- 68Lobotka
- 20ZielinskiSubstituted forCajusteat 71′minutes
- 21PolitanoSubstituted forLindstrømat 63′minutes
- 9OsimhenSubstituted forSimeoneat 63′minutesBooked at 71mins
- 77KvaratskheliaSubstituted forElmasat 83′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Demme
- 7Elmas
- 14Contini
- 16Idasiak
- 17Olivera
- 18Simeone
- 23Zerbin
- 24Cajuste
- 29Lindstrøm
- 50D’Avino
- 59Zanoli
- 70Gaetano
- 81Raspadori
Udinese
Formation 3-5-2
- 1Silvestri
- 18PérezBooked at 62mins
- 29Bijol
- 31Thiesson Kristensen
- 2EboseleSubstituted forFerreiraat 58′minutes
- 4LovricSubstituted forPereyraat 71′minutes
- 11Souza SilvaSubstituted forSamardzicat 59′minutes
- 32Payero
- 12KamaraSubstituted forZemuraat 72′minutes
- 26ThauvinSubstituted forSuccessat 58′minutes
- 17Lucca
Substitutes
- 5Guessand
- 6Zarraga
- 7Success
- 13Ferreira
- 15Aké
- 16Tikvic
- 21Camara
- 24Samardzic
- 33Zemura
- 37Pereyra
- 40Okoye
- 72Malusà
- 80Pafundi
- Referee:
- Gianluca Manganiello
Live Text
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Match ends, Napoli 4, Udinese 1.
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Second Half ends, Napoli 4, Udinese 1.
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Attempt missed. Jesper Lindstrøm (Napoli) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Eljif Elmas.
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Foul by Mário Rui (Napoli).
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João Ferreira (Udinese) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Hand ball by Jens Cajuste (Napoli).
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Attempt blocked. Jens Cajuste (Napoli) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Giovanni Di Lorenzo with a cross.
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Corner, Napoli. Conceded by Marco Silvestri.
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Attempt saved. Giovanni Simeone (Napoli) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
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Attempt blocked. Isaac Success (Udinese) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jordan Zemura.
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Attempt missed. Nehuén Pérez (Udinese) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by João Ferreira with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Udinese. Conceded by Leo Østigård.
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Foul by Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli).
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Martín Payero (Udinese) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Substitution, Napoli. Giacomo Raspadori replaces André-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
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Substitution, Napoli. Eljif Elmas replaces Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
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Goal! Napoli 4, Udinese 1. Giovanni Simeone (Napoli) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
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Goal! Napoli 3, Udinese 1. Lazar Samardzic (Udinese) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Isaac Success.
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Attempt saved. Jaka Bijol (Udinese) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lazar Samardzic with a cross.
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Foul by Jesper Lindstrøm (Napoli).
