Rafa Benitez insisted Napoli “worked very well” to achieve their target: Europa League qualification against Sparta Prague.

The uninspired 0-0 draw proved enough to send them through to the next round and top of the group is guaranteed with a win over bottom club Slovan Bratislava.

Rafa Benitez insisted Napoli “worked very well” to achieve their target: Europa League qualification against Sparta Prague.

The uninspired 0-0 draw proved enough to send them through to the next round and top of the group is guaranteed with a win over bottom club Slovan Bratislava.

“The pitch was poor and it was not easy to play well,” said the Coach in his Press conference.

“In the second half we did better and created some scoring opportunities. Qualification was our objective and we achieved it, therefore the team worked very well.

“We had a few problems with the playing surface and they had already become apparent yesterday in the warm-up. The ball did not roll cleanly and it was trickier to control passes the way we do at the San Paolo.”

Benitez also commented on Marek Hamsik’s move to the left side of a supporting trident.

“He does behind in the middle behind a striker, but we are in an emergency situation. He did a good job attacking and defending.

“The whole team played well defensively and it was very positive that we came away with a clean sheet. Don’t forget Sparta were unbeaten all season on home turf.”

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