Simy Nwankwo scored twice as Crotone suffered a 3-2 loss against Lazio in Friday’s Serie A game at Stadio Olimpico.
The 28-year-old was handed his 20th league appearance and made the most of the opportunity to continue his fine goalscoring form.
The Nigeria international scored twice in his side’s victory over Torino and bagged another brace at Stadio Olimpico, but his effort was not enough to save his side from their 20th defeat of the campaign.
The Pythagoreans started the game unimpressively, conceding as early as the 14th minute of the encounter when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic found the back of the net.
Simy then levelled proceedings for Serse Cosmi’s men in the 29th minute, firing a long-range effort from outside the box.
Some 10 minutes later, Luis Alberto gave Simone Inzaghi’s men the lead after receiving a timely assist from Ciro Immobile.
Crotone were handed a chance to equalize when they were awarded a penalty after Mohamed Fares brought down Junior Messias in the box and Simy swiftly dispatched his effort into the back of the net to complete his brace in the encounter.
With the game looking to end in a draw, Felipe Caicedo scored the match-winning goal in the 84th minute to ensure Lazio secured all three points at Stadio Olimpico.
Simy featured for the duration of the game along with Algeria international Adam Ounas, who is on loan from Napoli.
The defeat has further condemned Crotone to the bottom of the Serie A table after gathering 15 points from 27 games.
Simy has now scored 12 goals and provided two assists in 27 league games this season for the Stadio Ezio Scida outfit.
The forward will be expected to continue his impressive performances when Crotone take on Bologna in their next league game on March 20.
Simy has been with the Pythagoreans since 2016 and played a key role in their return to Serie A last season, bagging 20 goals to emerge as the top scorer in Serie B.
The forward has not been invited for Nigeria’s 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Republic of Benin and Lesotho later this month.