Napoli coach Rafael Benitez has claimed that star striker Gonzalo Higuain was not annoyed to be substituted during his side’s 1-0 defeat to Fiorentina on the weekend.
The Argentine international appeared to be furious when called off the pitch with ten minutes left to play and the scores still level, but Benitez has claimed his player was unhappy about his side’s performance and not the substitution.
“He was angry about what had happened during the match, not about the substitution,” the Napoli coach told Sky Sport Italia.
The former Chelsea boss reacted to a disappointing result for the Partenopei that leaves them six points off second-place Roma, who have a game in hand.
“I must look at all the positives, to play a match at this level only three days after the game with Porto is encouraging and we are prepared for the final nine fixtures,” he continued.
“It is clear that finishing second will be more difficult now. But if we continue to play at this level we can still win a lot of matches.”
When asked if his side were only at eighty per cent, the Spaniard said: “I don’t know about that, the squad is still missing something but it is on the rise.”
Follow Alasdair Mackenzie on Twitter: @olimpiacalcio
