Will Osimhen red card set the tone for another disappointing campaign?

With a boatload of goals in pre-season, words of encouragement from his new manager in the off-season and a newly promoted side coming to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in gameweek one; Victor Osimhen was tipped to tear Venezia to shreds on Sunday night.

However, 22 minutes after Gianluca Aureliano’s first whistle, the Nigerian was receiving his marching orders for violent conduct in front of the home support.

It didn’t prove costly for Luciano Spalletti’s men who rallied to beat the side from Venice playing their first match in Serie A for 19 years.

The situation that could effectively have been resolved with a ‘talking to’ strangely saw Aureliano mete out harsh punishment on the Super Eagle who received his first red card in the competition and second since signing for the Azzurri in summer 2020.

It is far from ideal for the frontman who came into the game on the back of an impressive pre-season which included a quick-fire brace in a 3-0 dismantling of Bayern Munich in Bavaria.

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In total, Osimhen netted a staggering eight times in the team’s friendlies and looked set to punish a side that were winless in their last 12 Serie A games (a run from their 2001/02 campaign) and one that tends to lose on the opening day anyway.

The 2-0 win was certainly what the doctor ordered, but Spalletti’s admonition of his star striker had to resonate, despite a perceived feeling he’d been hard done by with the referee’s decision.

“The expulsion of Osimhen? He has to be careful of his emotional reactions,” Spalletti said as quoted by Ilnapolista. “He is a strong attacker, and all defenders will help each other. He will always have his hands on the defenders. He must be careful.

“The referee was corrected when I went to talk to him, and he explained what he saw.”

Having mostly praised the young attacker at almost every opportunity since taking charge, Spalletti has now pointed out a need to curb his frenzied pressing and on-pitch fervour.

In a sense, you wonder how this would work, especially as those two elements, by and large, distinguish the Nigeria superstar once he crosses that white line. He wears his heart on his sleeve and leaves everything on the pitch.

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Ideally, you’d want the West African to find a balance and channel his zeal effectively, but then wonder if this will ever be a possibility for someone who is largely fuelled by that fire in his belly.

It might not diminish as he ages or matures — just ask Diego Costa, the pantomime on-field villain in his pomp — and any change will be the ultimate successful character arc. Having been labelled the ‘striker whisperer’ — and for good reason — it’ll be interesting to see how Spalletti shapes the 22-year-old in the coming weeks, months and, perhaps, years.

On Sunday, Osimhen’s pressing was anything but toned down. He harried ferociously, at times needlessly, in an attempt to force errors in Venezia’s build-up.

After only four minutes, he won a free kick by putting pressure on visiting goalkeeper Niki Maenpaa who was forced into an error. Three minutes later, the Nigerian’s harrying of the shot-stopper almost saw a hasty clearance find its way in for the opening goal after a ricochet off the marksman’s boot nearly diverted the ball in.

The forward, who looked hungry and had two low-percentage efforts before his dismissal, will now miss games at Genoa and possibly a huge Juventus encounter in Naples after the international break.

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Perhaps, unfortunately, the momentum he gathered heading into the campaign may now be lost somewhat, although the club have confirmed an appeal is in the offing.

Indeed, this strong run began at the backend of last season when he netted seven of his 10 Serie A goals from April onwards, a return, in that same period, only bettered by Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic.

Another season in which Osimhen scored double figures saw him and Erling Haaland become the two youngest players — born in 1998 and 2000 respectively — to score 10 goals or higher in league football for two campaigns in succession.

Having had his debut season marked as something of a disappointment, the aforementioned statistic, therefore, puts things into context.

He was expected to have a storming season, and some even believe the Nigerian is an outsider for the Capocannoniere. In that sense, you’d hope Sunday’s red card was only a setback and the young centre-forward’s fettle won’t be hindered by this early suspension.

Napoli did continue their impressive record against Venezia — which now stands at 11 wins in 13 encounters — with this recent win sealing the Partenopei’s second Serie A win on the trot against the visitors from Venice.

Having picked up a fifth consecutive opening day league victory, the Champions League hopefuls will hope Osimhen returns to the blistering pre-season form post-suspension that caused locals to believe they’d return to Europe’s elite competition after a two-year absence.