Under-fire Napoli boss Rudi Garcia seems unfazed by another underwhelming result as Bologna held the champions winless on Sunday evening. A dramatic encounter at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara ended 0-0, with Victor Osimhen spurning a late penalty to continue his barren run.
Napoli failed to score against Bologna for the first time in ten matches. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Today’s sluggish performance led to the club’s first three-game winless run in Serie A in over a year. The reigning holder’s rough patch has seen them fall seven points behind leaders Inter.
It’s hard to be in Garcia’s skin these days. It wasn’t his fault Osimhen couldn’t hit the target from the spot. But he was guilty of starting a quarrel with the Napoli talisman by the touchline during a tense showdown in Emilia-Romagna.
The two were caught arguing in a heated discussion after Garcia shockingly decided to sub Osimhen off down the final stretch despite chasing the result. The Napoli star couldn’t hide his frustration as he lashed out at his manager after surrendering his place to Giovanni Simeone.
“Even the greatest players in the history of football miss penalties,” Garcia said in the aftermath, as quoted by Gianluca Di Marzio. “As for when he went off, we talked about that. What I say to my players remains in the locker room.“
Osimhen’s outburst wasn’t the first sign of discontent among Napoli players under Garcia. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was furious when the Frenchman withdrew him against Genoa last weekend.
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