Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic lauded Miroslav Klose for his sportsmanship in Wednesday night's 3-0 defeat at Napoli.
Klose confessed to handling the ball into the net during the Serie A clash at Napoli, leading to the referee ruling the goal out.
However, Petkovic was also disappointed his players did not use the early incident as a positive spur for the remainder of the match, which Lazio ended up losing 3-0 as Napoli striker Edinson Cavani netted a hat-trick.
Klose's 'goal' came in the fourth minute when he deflected in an inswing corner with his hand from two yards out. Referee Luca Banti eventually disallowed the effort amid huge protests from the Napoli players and an admission from Klose that he handled the ball.
The game was goalless at that point, but Napoli would go on to take the points as Cavani struck in the 19th, 31st and 63rd minutes. The Uruguay international also missed a penalty 14 minutes from time.
Petkovic was quoted as telling Sky Sport Italia: "Miroslav did well to admit he touched the ball with his hand, but we had to take advantage of this occasion as something positive, and instead we slowly switched off."
Klose's sportsmanship went down well with Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro, who said of the experienced striker: "He deserves a prize."
