Napoli put the opening day defeat against AZ Alkmaar behind them to secure their first win in the Europa League group stage.
A second half goal from Italy forward Matteo Politano was enough to give the Partenopei a vital win in Spain.
Gattuso praised Napoli for a hard fought victory against the Spaniards, insisting his side were disciplined, but has urged them to be more creative in front of goal.
“I think more than 50 per cent of our qualification chances were up for grabs here, as we made life complicated for ourselves against AZ,” the former AC Milan coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“It was not easy at all. Real Sociedad usually play an ultra-attacking football, but they changed to make it tough for us, they were more defensive and frustrated us.
“I have to praise my players, as they fought so hard, they were tactically solid and always on their toes. The only thing we needed to improve was some of the quality.
“After 25 minutes we changed, as we stopped going to press them, we sat back and waited.
“Real Sociedad want to open you up and play on the through lines, but it was the wise thing for us to sit back and wait for them to come to us, because before that we risked several dangerous counter-attacks with three against three or four against four.”
Next up for Napoli is a Serie A game against Sassuolo at Stadio San Paolo on Sunday.
