Giovanni Di Lorenzo said Napoli “deserved to go through” after the 1-0 win against Lazio in the Coppa Italia.
The Partenopei booked a place in the semi-finals of the Italian cup and Di Lorenzo was particularly happy about how the defence kept Lazio's attackers at bay on Tuesday.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo said Napoli “deserved to go through” after the 1-0 win against Lazio in the Coppa Italia.
The Partenopei booked a place in the semi-finals of the Italian cup and Di Lorenzo was particularly happy about how the defence kept Lazio's attackers at bay on Tuesday.
“We knew Lazio play with short and tight combinations. We had a great game in all aspects. We managed to go again when we were in possession,” he told Rai Sport. “We deserved to go through, even if Lazio had some big chances.
“I feel we had a good performance against Inter and Lazio. Now, we have claimed a very important qualification, because we care a lot about this competition.”
The dramatic match was a 10v10 contest for 65 minutes, as both teams had one player sent off during the first half.
Elseid Hysaj was sent off after 19 minutes, but the Azzurri only had to play 10v11 for six minutes. Lucas Leiva was then booked twice in the same minute and sent off for dissent.
The right-back Di Lorenzo had to start the game at centre-half and has claimed he will do everything coach Gennaro Gattuso “asks of me”.
“My natural role is at the back, but I make myself available to the coach and will do what he asks of me,” Di Lorenzo added. “We knew that we would have to stay focused throughout the game, given the attackers we faced.
“We regrouped and united after the loss against Fiorentina, the worst game we’ve played since the new coach arrived. Even when we were one man down, we kept our compactness.
“When there’s the shape, it has another effect. Hopefully it will be like this also on Sunday. When it is, it’s truly beautiful.”