Predicted Juventus and Napoli won the first league match.
However, the victories were overshadowed by the racist abuse by rival fans which Napoli striker Victor Osimhen had to put up with.
Hellas Verona advanced against Napoli at home to Estadio Bentegodi after Kevin Lasagna held himself in front. New Napoli’s new player, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, equalized soon after.
Then, unfortunately, it was the home fans’ turn to move forward. According to Agence France-Presse, a section of Verona supporters was heard chanting monkey sounds at Napoli’s Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen.
However, the 23-year-old responded in the best way by making it 2-1 for the visiting team in injury time in the first half. Osimin celebrated the goal by removing his face mask after an earlier injury and pretending to cry in front of the television camera.
It was in stormy weather before
Napoli eventually managed to win 5-2 and after that Osimhen did not want to talk about the incident but chose to focus on the match.
I think it’s important to start well because we’ve lost some key players and real leaders in the team. It’s of course up to the rest of us to move forward, he told DAZN.
This was not the first time that Verona supporters had been accused of racism. Part of the nucleus of supporters has long been criticized for its extremist and xenophobic views.
Introduce himself right away
Before the season, Napoli sold stars such as Calido Coulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens. Pressure has mounted on owner Aurelio De Laurentiis to sell the club, but now he may be breathing it a bit.
Elsewhere, Juventus secured a good start to the league season. New player Angel Di Maria kicked off his dream with a goal straight away on his first home appearance against Sassuolo. Dusan Vlahovic, caught in an expensive winter, added two goals and the “old lady” won as planned 3-0.
In the next round, Napoli host newcomer Monza at home on Sunday while Juventus face Sampdoria away next Monday.