Cutrone venom impresses Gattuso after leaving Roma stung

Gennaro Gattuso credited Patrick Cutrone with having “venom inside of him” after the substitute stole a last-gasp 2-1 win for AC Milan over Roma.

Federico Fazio equalised for visitors Roma after Franck Kessie opened the scoring five minutes before half-time in Serie A action at San Siro on Friday.

Milan’s Gonzalo Higuain and Roma midfielder Steven N’Zonzi both had goals ruled out for their respective sides but the former still made a telling impact at the last – slotting a measured pass into Cutrone’s path for the 20-year-old Italy forward to coolly finish.

“Patrick in this moment has the venom inside of him,” head coach Gattuso told Italian broadcaster Sky Sport after his team bounced back from their sapping 3-2 loss to Napoli.

“We are at the second round of games and we’re already talking about a turning point. 

“There was great regret after the Napoli game but we didn’t throw everything away, I knew it.

“We have strengthened but I can’t talk about a turning point after the second game.”

Who did you hug at the final whistle? 
E voi chi avete abbracciato al fischio finale? #MilanRoma #ANewMilan pic.twitter.com/sGFiZ1fgFW

— AC Milan (@acmilan) August 31, 2018

Gattuso, famously a combative midfielder during his playing days, was impressed by his team’s willingness to battle through some heavy weather when Roma were in the ascendancy after half-time.

“We worked on our mentality and on knowing how to suffer,” he said.

“We can’t think that we can control the game for 90 minutes. Sometimes you need to play with a knife between your teeth.”