Osimhen wins penalty as Napoli regain Serie A top spot with Bologna win

Victor Osimhen won a penalty for Napoli in their 3-0 triumph over Bologna in Thursday’s Serie A encounter.

The 22-year-old could not add to his tally of five league goals, but his contribution at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona helped the hosts regain the lead at the top of the table.

Fabian Ruiz got Napoli off to a flying start with the opening goal in the 18th minute and just before half-time, the hosts were awarded a penalty after Gary Medel was found to have handled the ball with his arm during an aerial challenge with Osimhen.

Lorenzo Insigne stepped forward to convert from the spot as the Parthenopeans maintained a two-goal lead at the break.

After the restart, Napoli kept pushing to extend their lead and they won another penalty after Senegal defender Ibrahima Mbaye brought down Osimhen in the 59th minute.

Insigne was called to action again and he scored his second goal of the night to seal maximum points for the hosts.

The victory was Napoli’s ninth league win in 10 matches, after they dropped their first points of the season in a goalless draw with Roma on Sunday.

Osimhen played the entirety of the match alongside Senegal’s Kalidou Koulibaly while Cameroon’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa was in action for 75 minutes and Algeria defender Faouzi Ghoulam made his return to action as an 87th-minute substitute.

Next up for Osimhen and his Napoli teammates is a league fixture against Simy Nwankwo and Joel Obi’s Salernitana on Sunday.

Meanwhile, assistant coach Marco Domenichini, who oversaw Napoli in the absence of suspended manager Luciano Spalletti, praised the team for the victory.

"We managed the game well," Domenichini told the club’s website. "The success is well deserved, we started a little slower than usual but then we managed to pick up the pace and score.

"We have an available group that follows his coach day after day. This team is the result of Spalletti's work but also the application of the boys.

"Even those who came on the bench gave a fundamental contribution. We need to continue like this, thinking race by race as we have been doing so far."