Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of Real Madrid, has shed light on how his team successfully contained Napoli’s star striker, Victor Osimhen, during Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League clash.
Ancelotti’s squad emerged victorious in the match, which took place on matchday two at Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, with a score of 3-2.
Osimhen played a pivotal role by earning a penalty for Napoli’s first goal and unleashing a goal-bound header that was skillfully parried away by Kepa Arrizabalaga in the first half. Despite his notable contributions, the 24-year-old Nigerian was unable to find the back of the net during the game.
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The seasoned tactician revealed that he employed a strategy of assigning two players to closely mark Osimhen throughout the match.
“We aimed to have two players marking him (Osimhen); the central defenders executed this plan effectively and denied him any space behind them,” Ancelotti explained during his media interaction. “Defending against Osimhen is challenging, especially on aerial balls, but we managed it well.”
Notably, Victor Osimhen scored five goals for Napoli in the UEFA Champions League last season. However, he has yet to open his goal account for the Serie A champions in this season’s competition.