Parma strike late as Gattuso loses on Napoli debut
MILAN: Gennaro Gattuso’s debut as Napoli coach ended in a 2-1 injury-time defeat to Parma on Saturday as last season’s Serie A runners-up extended their winless run to eight league games.
Gattuso took over after Carlo Ancelotti was sacked despite Napoli’s 4-0 Champions League win over Genk booking their place in the last 16 in midweek.
But the former AC Milan coach’s reign got off to the worst possible start as the southerners drop to eighth—17 points behind leaders Inter Milan.
Gervinho struck the winner in the third minute of injury time after Dejan Kulusevski had put Parma ahead after just four minutes in Naples. Arkadiusz Milik pulled the hosts level on 64 minutes in the game which had been delayed after high winds damaged the roofing of the San Paolo Stadium.
“This team is suffering psychologically,” said Gattuso, “paying for the fact that it has not won (in the league) for 50 or more days. “The mirror of the current situation was the first ten minutes. It’s tough, as are the whistles of the fans. There’s a lot of work to do.”
Kulusevski struck early as defender Kalidou Koulibaly lost control of the ball minutes into the game. The Senegalese defender went off with a thigh injury just after his blunder, with Parma also losing striker Andreas Cornelius to injury after quarter of an hour. Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne missed chances to break through, inexplicably sending wide with just Parma goalkeeper Luigi Sepe to beat. Gattuso brought on Dries Mertens after an hour with the Belgian setting up Milik to head past Sepe, the Polish striker following on from his hat-trick against Genk. Gervinho threatened when he raced up the pitch, past the Napoli defence with Alex Meret stopping with his foot. The Ivorian finally broke through three minutes into added time, scoring after a counter-attack with Kulusevski.
Gattuso missed out on the Champions League places with AC Milan last season. But the former World Cup winner with Italy, conceded Napoli’s situation was different as it came against a backdrop of past success. “Milan was a team in trouble, coming out of four or five problem years,” said Gattuso. “Here everything that is happening is something new. In the past few years 80 percent of these players have always come second or third and are not used to not winning in the league for 50 days. They find themselves dealing with a situation they have never experienced, and are paying for this.”
RONALDO DOUBLE
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to set yet another goalscoring landmark and help Juventus to a 3-1 home win over Udinese that sent them back to the top of the Serie A table. Ronaldo, who has five goals in his last four games, took his tally for the season to 11 in 19 appearances, becoming the only player in Europe’s top five leagues to hit double figures in all competitions in each of the last 15 seasons. He struck twice in the first half before Leonardo Bonucci headed in Juve’s third on the brink of halftime.
Ignacio Pussetto netted a consolation for the visitors.