NAPOLI manager Luciano Spalletti has expressed his disappointment in the side’s elimination from the Copa Italia last night, especially with his attackers, including Victor Osimhen, for missed opportunities.
The Serie A leaders were beaten 5-4 on penalties at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona by league strugglers Cremonese after full-time and extra-time ended 2-2.
Nigerian forward David Okereke assisted Charles Pickel for Cremonese to open the scoring but Napoli fought back to lead 2-1 until they conceded a late equaliser to Ghana’s Felix Afena-Gyan.
“We are upset and really disappointed,” Spalletti told Mediaset in his post-match interview.
Serie A top scorer Osimhen had been left out of the starting line-up to rest him, but he came on for the last 18 minutes of extra-time and missed two decent chances, joining his colleagues in misfiring.
“We must handle the ball well and we were not as good as we usually are,” Spalletti noted
“We wasted a few possessions, but generally, we were in a safe condition. We conceded the equaliser randomly and we missed other chances during extra-time. Even when you are one man up, it becomes more complicated when you lose control.
“If we don’t produce the same quality standards, anything can happen. We are out because we were below our means.
“Tiredness and hustle also emerged and our opponents were perfect from the spot, so we have to congratulate them.”
