Carlo Ancelotti believes Napoli have gained from their Champions League experience. “I cannot guarantee victory this year, but we will soon be able to win something.”

The trip to Cagliari kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.

The pressure is on to deliver in Serie A after the group phase Champions League exit, due to a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool.

Carlo Ancelotti believes Napoli have gained from their Champions League experience. “I cannot guarantee victory this year, but we will soon be able to win something.”

The trip to Cagliari kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.

The pressure is on to deliver in Serie A after the group phase Champions League exit, due to a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool.

“The reaction after Anfield was positive. It was a disappointment, but we are also aware that the defeat changed nothing with regards to our ambitions and future projects,” said the Coach in his Press conference.

“The club dealt with the situation wonderfully, it’s rare to see such a balanced approach. We have shelved the disappointment and look with optimism to the rest of the season.

“I am judged by results and so far they have been very good. There was this Champions League exit, but the team proved it is competitive with the biggest clubs in Europe. That is important. We are no longer in the Champions League, but are now in another competition that has seen two top sides win over the last couple of years.

“We will be and want to be protagonists in the Europa League. Coming so close to qualification in a group with Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain gave us the awareness we are competitive on all fronts.”

Napoli only lost one game in the group, the decider with Liverpool, and would’ve gone through had they fallen 2-1 rather than 1-0.

“I was not surprised by our exit, as it was in the balance to the last minute. We can’t look back now, we couldn’t have asked for more and in fact I think my players did more than could be expected.”

As for the Scudetto race, Napoli lag eight points behind leaders Juventus, but are already breaking away from Inter and the chasing pack.

“Our objective is to hang in there. So far, Juventus have dropped very few points and if they were to drop them, we’d be ready to take advantage.

“The ambition is to be competitive in Italy and Europe. I cannot promise victory, but we want to be competitive to challenge for silverware.

“The future of Napoli is bright, the squad is young and we are adding more youngsters. It is a team built for the future. I cannot guarantee victory 100 per cent this year, but we will soon be able to win something.”

Ancelotti confirmed Mario Rui is out with a muscular problem, while Alex Meret has taken part in training despite a shoulder issue.

“Arkadiusz Milik is in good shape, he has improved a great deal and could well start tomorrow. Cagliari play good football, attack the space and have a strong soul. They recovered against Roma when down to nine men, it was incredible. These are two sides who play very different styles of football and I expect a good match.”

Napoli squad for Cagliari: Meret, Ospina, Karnezis, Hysaj, Malcuit, Ghoulam, Maksimovic, Albiol, Koulibaly, Luperto, Diawara, Hamsik, Rog, Zielinski, Fabian Ruiz, Allan, Callejon, Ounas, Younes, Mertens, Insigne, Milik

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