Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti has said Victor Osimhen struggled in Tuesday’s Champions League second leg quarter-final tie with AC Milan.
Osimhen made his first start since returning from a muscle injury sustained during the international break.
The Super Eagles striker scored in stoppage time but it was enough as Milan went through to the semis 2-1 on aggregate.
And speaking after the last eight tie. Spalletti said inexperience in some key moments in the game cost his team.
“First of all, we congratulate Milan on their qualification. They played two games in which they made the most of their chances, which is the sign of a mature team that knows when to press the accelerator and when to defend in numbers,” Spalletti told Mediaset
“I also want to compliment my players, as our Champions League campaign was played at a very high level. We paid for a few naïve moments, we paid for a lack of experience in dealing with moments of the match.
“Some of our players who came back from international duty were struggling, especially Osimhen who was out for 20 days after that injury. Then a few errors and a few injustices.”
The Italian tactician also questioned some of the decision taken by the referee.
“Everyone agreed, except those wearing the Milan jersey, that the referee made mistakes in the first leg. There was a penalty, clear as day, on Lozano where you see from the replays that the ankle moves and he never gets the ball. It’s the clearest penalty, you cannot fail to see that. It is not contact, that is a foul, otherwise his ankle would turn like that. It risks a sprain of the ankle. You cannot fail to see that.
“But then people say we complain… The penalty we gave away was naïve, this was also a clear penalty.”
Copyright © 2022 Completesports.com All rights reserved. The information contained in Completesports.com may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of Completesports.com.
