Walter Mazzarri insists Napoli ‘rediscovered the spirit and the style of football’ in their last-gasp win over Salernitana, assuring the training retreat ‘was productive.’
The Partenopei spent the last week in a training retreat, both as punishment for one point from three rounds and to help the squad recreate the unity they had lost since taking the Scudetto last season.
It didn’t seem to have worked when they went behind to an Antonio Candreva stunner into the far top corner, cancelled out by the Matteo Politano penalty.
However, jeers turned to cheers at the Stadio Maradona when Amir Rrahmani fired in at the end of a chaotic situation at the 96th minute.
“I think we rediscovered both the spirit, but also the organisation and style of football. It was not easy against a Salernitana side that defends deep and is dangerous on the counter-attack,” Mazzarri told DAZN.
“We conceded at their first chance, so considering the way things have been going lately, that was a nasty blow. I was instead so pleased to see the lads stayed calm, kept playing and with opportunities, possession etc, we fully deserved the victory.
“In the first half, we did not have enough vertical passes, but you must understand Gianluca Gaetano had his first start this season, while Cajuste still needs to adapt to our style of football. There were many variables that meant the Salernitana goal could demoralise us.
“Instead, we created numerous chances and had lots of possession, had control of the game. The defeat to Torino felt like an aberration, because even when we lost the other matches, we still played a certain kind of football, whereas against Torino we were not there.”
There were also concerns when Cajuste pulled up clutching the back of his leg and it is feared he suffered a hamstring strain.
“I am quite worried, to be honest. He said that he really felt the muscle pull, so in these situations, we may well have to wait for him a while.”
Another boost for Napoli today was seeing players come off the bench and make a positive contribution.
“We did well to prevent Salernitana going on the counter by winning the ball back immediately. That was something Napoli had done very well last season and we needed to recapture that skill. We have started to do that now.
“Candreva scored an extraordinary goal, he has that kind of thing in his locker, but otherwise we allowed Salernitana very little.”
Napoli now prepare for the Supercoppa Italiana in its new Final Four format, so they face Fiorentina in Thursday’s semi-final, followed by Inter against Lazio.
“I will start thinking about the Supercoppa from tonight. I think it was a productive training retreat because we actually got to train on the pitch and we hadn’t done that for a long time. I believe you could see the difference today.
“The main focus was to get back to winning ways after the recent setback.”
Mazzarri was asked about potential reinforcements on the January transfer market.
“I do not mention players who are not on the Napoli books. Our club, President and directors are involved in the scouting process and will try to bring the best possible players, a coach cannot say anything beyond that.”
#SerieA | @sscnapoli, le parole di #Mazzarri dopo la vittoria in rimonta contro la @OfficialUSS1919 https://t.co/59DLwrWAyB
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 13, 2024