Gattuso: ‘Osimhen will pay for mistake’

Gennaro Gattuso still wasn’t entirely happy after Napoli beat Cagliari 4-1 but declared that Victor Osimhen will ‘pay for a silly mistake.’

The Partenopei ended their poor run of three games without a Serie A victory by dominating Cagliari 4-1 in Sardinia with a Piotr Zielinski brace.

“I’ve always said that Zielinski dances on the ball and can do incredible things, a change of pace or direction that gives the defenders no chance,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia.

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“He has everything it takes to become a great player. He’s just lacking a little determination in the final third. If we are playing the 4-2-3-1 formation, it’s because he is able to play as a support for the striker. Zielinski is a very important player for us.”

Despite the victory, the Napoli coach was still not happy with the overall performance.

“We can’t create 10 scoring opportunities and take so few of them. Considering all the forwards we are missing right now, we still got into the final third 20 times and lacked determination. That’s what angered me the most, as it’s an issue of mentality.”

Among the players currently missing is Osimhen, who after dislocating his shoulder on international duty, then had a birthday party in Nigeria and contracted COVID-19.

There have been reports that the striker will be fined by the club and Gattuso did not rule that out.

“When I made a mistake, Marcello Lippi used to say he’d let me stew in my own juices for a while, to recognise what I’d done. That’s what Osimhen has to do now.

“He has already apologised, he’s a lad who gives his all when working. He made a silly mistake, he knows that. I am a coach, I don’t decide fines, especially as I was the one who gave the all-clear for him to return to Nigeria and so both of us were left embarrassed by what happened.

“He made a mistake and he will pay what he needs to pay.”