Raul Albiol claims there's no pressure on Napoli ahead of the game against Villareal: 'We want the EL final and the Champions League'.
The Partenopei need to reverse a 1-0 defeat as they play tomorrow evening at 20:05 UK time against Villarreal, in the second leg of the Europa League Last 16.
“We have to stay calm and prepare ourselves mentally,” Albiol told the Press. “It's important for us.
Raul Albiol claims there's no pressure on Napoli ahead of the game against Villareal: 'We want the EL final and the Champions League'.
The Partenopei need to reverse a 1-0 defeat as they play tomorrow evening at 20:05 UK time against Villarreal, in the second leg of the Europa League Last 16.
“We have to stay calm and prepare ourselves mentally,” Albiol told the Press. “It's important for us.
“We want to qualify for the next round but we know it's tough. They play well, but facing them at home, with the support of our fans, we can reverse the result.”
Napoli also had a 1-1 draw against Milan last Saturday that kept them from reconquering the top of Serie A.
“We wanted to win and we wanted three points. We ended up drawing, but it's a long journey and we're competing for the Scudetto as well as the second place, which is worth direct access to the Champions League.
“There are still 12 games to go and they're all difficult. We must stay relaxed and keep going on all together.
“In the Europa League we want to make it all the way to the end. Last year we made it to the semifinal, now we want the final. The championship won't be back till Monday and we're not thinking about that.
“We are all available and tomorrow we have the opportunity of winning again after three matches. This is the team's mentality. We must make good a one-goal difference and be solid defensively. At home we always create a lot.
“We're thinking about winning, not about other things. These stories about us being under pressure are nonsense.
“We just want to win all matches. I have no further distractions on the pitch. There's no more pressure than at any other point.
“The Coach is getting me to improve. On the first day he told me to change a few things defensively, and I've been doing everything to put his ideas into practice.
“We're happy about his mentality and his idea of the game. Now we have three important months to end well. Defensively, we're playing great.”
Last year the Partenopei were kicked out of the competition by Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, losing 2-1 on aggregate.
“We'd forgotten that. We concede a goal that sometimes happens in football. Now we must think of going forward.
“In the first match we held the reins of the game. We lost due to a dead ball at the end, but on the whole it was a good match. The squad is good and many can play. Whoever takes to the pitch will give it his all.
“[Gonzalo] Higuain? He hasn't scored in two games, but in one of them he only played 20 minutes. He shouldn't have to win on his own. He already did very much, now we defenders and midfielders have to score as well.”