Sarri: 'Higuain a phenomenon'

By Football Italia staff

Maurizio Sarri praised “phenomenon” Gonzalo Higuain and told Napoli starlet Lorenzo Insigne to “shut up” after defeat to Juventus.

The Partenopei suffered their sixth consecutive Serie A loss in Turin, falling 2-1 to Leonardo Bonucci and Higuain strikes.

“In terms of the collective, Napoli worked well. Juventus on home turf had only two chances all game, but the regret is that our mistakes gifted the goals,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.

“On the first goal, if the clearance goes into the stands for a corner, nobody will remember it. On the second (Faouzi) Ghoulam tried to intercept and it went straight back to Higuain.

“We had four clear-cut chances, so there are regrets, but in terms of character I liked the team. Last season we allowed Juve little, but played in too timid a fashion. This time we played with character and came here to play our football.

“It’s a pity about those errors. We could’ve done something more going forward with the full-backs, probably because our focus was on restoring defensive solidity after a negative period, so with time and more confidence they’ll find the right balance.

“Physicality isn’t something you can buy. Our physical structure is this and our philosophy is to focus on players who pass it to feet and are quicker. We were a good 10kg and 10cm off the Juve players.

“My big regret is that everything that happened in recent weeks forced us to squeeze every drop out of the front three and they reached this appointment a little fatigued.”

Insigne was visibly irritated when he came off, protesting that he ‘feels fine’ and pulling faces.

“Insigne asked me why he was substituted, I got the feeling he had cramp. When he comes off, he has to shut up and not complain. If we have something to say to each other, we’ll do it tomorrow. He has to shut up.”

Sarri said he’d greet Higuain like a son who had made his father angry and they shared a warm embrace before kick-off.

“He is a phenomenon, a loose ball at Gonzalo’s feet means certain death for defenders. If Gonzalo wins something in Europe, I am happy for him. Less so for Juve, but I’ll be happy for him.”

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