Carlo Ancelotti concedes Napoli “had to show character to win this” after a 3-2 victory over Bologna. “We’ve not expressed our full potential.”
Arkadiusz Milik’s brace was cancelled out by two headers from set plays, until a late Dries Mertens winner.
“It’s a rather unusual period of the season and we haven’t seen any great performances this weekend,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
Carlo Ancelotti concedes Napoli “had to show character to win this” after a 3-2 victory over Bologna. “We’ve not expressed our full potential.”
Arkadiusz Milik’s brace was cancelled out by two headers from set plays, until a late Dries Mertens winner.
“It’s a rather unusual period of the season and we haven’t seen any great performances this weekend,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“I thought we above all didn’t keep our game under control, as we allowed Bologna to equalise twice from set plays. It should also be noted that Bologna played well and made life difficult, so we had to show character to win this.
“Bologna look very motivated and caused us a lot more problems than other teams who faced us at the San Paolo this season.”
At the midway stage, Napoli are nine points adrift of leaders Juventus.
“We’re on track, I’d say, with expectations. We had some good results that have only been watered down by an extraordinary Juventus run.
“We should be optimistic, as we are closer to the top than we are fifth place. We did everything we could in the Champions League, but this team has not yet expressed its full potential. We can do more and we will improve.
“It’s a healthy group with real professionals, so that makes my job easier. We changed a few things from last season and they adapted very well.
“There are players like Simone Verdi, Piotr Zielinski, Arkadiusz Milik and Fabian Ruiz who still have more to prove and I expect them to reach another level.
“Squad rotation is complicated if you have more than 20 outfield players. Right now, we have 21 and Vlad Chiriches is also coming back from injury.”