Photo by IMAGO
Antonio Conte’s Napoli had to battle hard for the three points against newly-promoted Pisa who paraded a young Nigerian midfielder
Emmanuel Akinsanmiro reached a personal landmark on Monday night as Pisa fell 3-2 to Napoli in a pulsating Serie A clash, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 20-year-old Nigerian midfielder, who came through Beyond Limits Academy and Remo Stars in Ogun State, played the full 90 minutes at the Stadio Maradona.
It is the first time Akinsanmiro has featured in back-to-back Serie A matches since moving to Italy in 2023, having already seen every minute of action in the 1-0 loss to Udinese last week.
Akinsanmiro made his Serie A debut last month in Pisa’s 1-1 draw against Atalanta, playing 28 minutes. He then endured a frustrating spell on the bench against Roma before gaining consecutive starts against Udinese and Napoli, both ending in narrow defeats for his side.
While Pisa’s poor start leaves them stuck in 19th place with just a single point from four matches, Akinsanmiro’s steady rise is a rare bright spot.
Against Napoli, the youngster impressed in central midfield, recording one shot on target, another off target, and completing 30 of his 34 attempted passes. Two of his three long passes also found their man, as his growing influence on the ball becomes more evident.
Pisa battle Napoli in thrillerÂ
The match itself was a five-goal thriller.
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Billy Gilmour opened the scoring for Napoli with a crisp strike from the edge of the box on 39 minutes, before Pisa equalised through M’Bala Nzola’s penalty just after the hour mark.
Leonardo Spinazzola’s thunderbolt restored Napoli’s lead midway through the second half, and new signing Lorenzo Lucca stretched the advantage with about ten minutes to go. Brazilian teenager Lorran pulled one back for Pisa in stoppage time, but the visitors could not find a late leveller.
Napoli, led by Antonio Conte, now sit top of the table with 12 points from four games, maintaining a perfect start to their title defence. Pisa, by contrast, are still searching for their first win since returning to the top flight.
For Akinsanmiro, however, the milestone of consecutive 90-minute outings could be the beginning of a breakthrough season in Serie A.
Having spent last year on loan at Sampdoria in Serie B, the Nigerian’s consistency and composure suggest he may soon become one of Pisa’s most reliable performers, even as the club battles at the wrong end of the table.
Akinsanmiro joined Pisa on loan from Inter Milan this summer with the club inserting an option to make the deal permanent. Inter Milan, however, also have a buy-back clause include in the contract as expectations are high that Akinsanmiro can grow into a global star.