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| Napoli’s Italian coach Luciano Spalletti comforts Napoli’s Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen (L) after he was substituted during the Italian Serie A football match between Napoli and Atalanta on March 11, 2023 at the Diego-Maradona stadium in Naples. |
Luciano Spalletti spoke to Radio Kiss Kiss ahead of Napoli’s Champions Leaguequarter-final second leg against Milan, giving his assessment of the
team’s chances and the return of Victor Osimhen.
The
influential Nigerian made his return from injury in the Partenopei’s Serie A
game against Hellas Verona on Saturday, coming on for 25 minutes of
the eventual 0-0 draw.
Assessing
his side’s performance in the stalemate at the Maradona, Spalletti believes his
side lacked fluidity in possession.
“I expected
the match against Verona to be so difficult,” he said. “We had to be
fluid. In the possession phase we were unable to find space between their
players. They are used to playing this type of match and they were helped by
the attitude and by our lack of fluidity.”
The Napolicoach was also asked about the difference in Napoli’s home and away form,having picked up 40 points from 15 away matches in Serie A compared to 35
points from their 15 games at home in the league.
Spalletti
replied: “Napoli are good both at home and away, it’s always the attitude of
the opponents that determines the outcome.“Maybe when
they play at home, the opponents try to score more whilst at Maradona they come
for a draw, they’re all more closed, lower and it gets more complicated.
The
attention soon turned to the topic of Osimhen, who is expected to be involved
again in the game against Milan.
“He gave
that burst of enthusiasm that our fans rightly attribute to him by now and he
immediately showed that he was in the game. He needed these 25 minutes of
running to be ready to play on Tuesday. It’s clear that we will also see the
players in training.
Spallettialso commented on the feud between Napoli’s supporters and the club’s President
Aurelio De Laurentiis.
He added:
“When I saw that there had been a conciliation, I was very happy, it was thanks
to De Laurentiis.“I say that
depriving our players of the affection and love of the fans, who struggle among
other things, it was unfair to keep them hidden. Now that we are all united in
our desire to love Napoli, everything becomes easier for us.”
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