Luciano Spalletti is not pleased with the refereeing as Napoli lost 1-0 to Milan in the Champions League quarter-final, but is even angrier at the memory of his own fans protesting during the 4-0 home defeat in Serie A.
The Rossoneri take a slender 1-0 lead going into the second leg at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 18, while Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Kim Min-jae will both be suspended.
While the Partenopei had more possession and shots on target, they failed to get past Mike Maignan and a Davide Calabria goal-line clearance on Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, whereas Ismael Bennacer finished off a rapid Brahim Diaz and Rafael Leao counter-attack.
“Commenting on games afterwards is a waste of time, because we cannot change what happened. I saw a great attitude from the team, we tried to take the game to Milan even when down to 10 men. I congratulated Maignan on his saves, Milan are a great side and we played the way we needed to, the way I expected us to. So well done lads,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia.
“Any absence is damaging at this stage of the season, but we also have players who can fill in, which is why we are where we are. We trust the squad. We are sad not to have Anguissa, as it feels unjust not to have him, but there’s nothing we can do.
“We were on the verge of substituting Anguissa when it happened, so that is disappointing that it took us a minute or two to think of who to replace and I wasn’t paying enough attention to the referee. I don’t comment on the referee, that is not my role.”
However, when pushed on the idea Anguissa should’ve held back so soon after his first yellow card and that Kim shouldn’t have protested with waving hand gestures, Spalletti lost his calm.
“I will say Anguissa got a lot of the ball. If we look at Zielinski’s card and the one that Krunic didn’t get… Seeing as you are talking about big gestures, tell me about the corner flag. If you talk about Kim, then tell me about the message sent to kids at home that you can have a tantrum and demolish a corner flag if things don’t go your way.”
Spalletti was referring to the first half incident when Rafael Leao kicked the corner flag after a miss and it had to be replaced, but he was surprisingly not shown a yellow card.
“Look, it’s all in front of you, it’s all very clear, I don’t need to comment on the choices the referee made. You can see for yourself.”
Napoli were inevitably weakened by the absence of both Victor Osimhen and his natural replacement Giovanni Simeone, while Giacomo Raspadori was only fit for the final 20 minutes, so Eljif Elmas was ineffective as a False 9.
It is hoped that Osimhen will be available next week after picking up that muscular issue on international duty with Nigeria.
Napoli had lost 4-0 at home to Milan in Serie A on April 2, but Spalletti is still angry at the fact his home fans were on a silent protest against President Aurelio De Laurentiis and the club hierarchy during that match.
“In terms of character, we are still to be formed and can be sensitive to situations that we create by ourselves, for example the atmosphere we played in the Serie A game at home. That was incredible and I will never get over it.
“Did you hear the fans here tonight? When we were at home, all you could hear was our fans protesting amongst themselves and 1,000 Milan fans celebrating. These are sensitive lads who do absorb the atmosphere around them.”