Riqui Puig has been more of quality for Barca since Quique Setien took over in January. There is every possibility he could be involved in a match against the Italian club on Saturday night.
Gattuso enjoyed watching Riqui Puig’s play
Barcelona were desperate to get back to action in the Champions League, but before the return match against Napoli, Gennaro Gattuso admitted that he enjoyed watching Riqui Puig. Riqui Puig has been more of quality for Barca since Quique Setien took over in January. There is every possibility he could be involved in a match against the Italian club on Saturday night. “I’ve talked so much about Riqui Puig already, he is a young champion who has the game in his blood, it is a sight to watch him play,” Gattuso said in Napoli’s pre-match press conference. “It’s good for people who love football, and it’s no coincidence that Barcelona players usually develop these characteristics. Barcelona have their method and way of playing. The important thing is that it’s not just a formation or a system, but how they play on the pitch.”
This will be a hard match for both teams
Napoli’s main attacking threats come from Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Hirving Lozano, despite a tough Serie A debut for the last season. However, Gattuso faces the prospect that Insigne will not be available for a clash at Camp Nou. “Insigne did 50 percent of his workouts on Thursday, and today he did 100 percent, but that will be his decision together with the doctors and me. After lockdown, Lozano worked very hard, started to improve, and had more minutes. The problem is how we fit them to the team”. Barcelona are not going into the match in fantastic shape, especially with Lionel Messi’s displeasure with how the club ended the domestic campaign. Still, Gattuso refuses to view the Catalan club as a wounded animal. “We know that this will be a tough match for us,” he explained.
“Everyone knows what quality Barcelona have, what kind of squad they are. We will have to perform a fantastic game both from a technical and a tactical point of view.”