Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen on Tuesday helped Napoli to beat German side Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League’s Round-of-16 first leg tie.
Napoli took a significant step towards their first Champions League quarter-final after a 2-0 victory over 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday.
Victor Osimhen’s 40th-minute opener at Deutsche Bank Park set Napoli on their way in the first leg of their last-16 clash after Kevin Trapp saved a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia penalty.
Randal Kolo Muani’s red card after 58 minutes only served to further Napoli’s cause before Giovanni Di Lorenzo netted to secure a comfortable lead in the tie.
Eintracht will have the chance to fight back in Naples on March 15, though it appears little can stop Luciano Spalletti’s Serie A leaders at present.
Napoli have taken on all comers this season, proving to be a force in Europe while they have taken Serie A by storm and are hoping for their first Champions League and Serie A double.
The German side have excelled in European competition under head coach Oliver Glasner, with only two losses from 19 matches (W10 D7), including a triumph in last season’s Europa League final against Rangers.
Frankfurt have won their past four meetings with Italian sides since a loss to Palermo back in 2006, while Napoli have just two wins from their 12 away dates in Germany (D5 L5).
However, Napoli have been a different beast this campaign, leading all teams with 20 group stage goals averaging 3.3 goals per game in the competition under Luciano Spalletti.
Meanwhile, Frankfurt have a pair of in-form goalscorers in Daichi Kamada who has scored in each of his side’s past three Champions League matches this season, while Randal Kolo Muani has found the back of the net in their past two.
But, in a rematch of the 2022 Champions League final Liverpool and Real Madrid had another night of footballing moments at Anfield in the round of 16 first leg fixtures.
While the Reds have struggled in the Premier League this campaign, their European form provided a tough test for the visitors scoring two early goals by Darvin Nunez and Mohamed Salah against the team that beat them to the famous trophy in Paris last May.
However, Real came back into the game with two first half goals from Vinicius Junior to end the first half on 2-2.
The European champion gained dominance three minutes into the second half with a Eder Militao goal (48’) assisted by Luka Modric.
Eight minutes after (56’) Karim Benzema made it four with an assist from Rodrygo while the Frenchman got his second goal (67’) of the night to make it 5-2.
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