‘Genk need balance against Napoli’

Racing Genk boss Felice Mazzu is wary of Napoli’s individual quality but believes ‘balance’ is the key to beating them.

Mazzu was born in Belgium but has an Italian father from Calabria, while Genk go into their second Champions League with something to prove after a 6-2 thrashing at the hands of Red Bull Salzburg.

“It’ll be important to have balance: being too defensive or too attacking would be risky,” he said at a Press conference.

“Salzburg wasn’t a good experience: we have left too many spaces and at this level you can’t afford it.

“Salzburg are very direct, while Napoli play great possession football. Their attackers, therefore, are of a different profile.

“Our mentality will be important tomorrow: we want to do well in front of our fans. Ancelotti has great experience, his CV speaks for itself.

He’s able to communicate well with the team and he always manages to find new ideas. There’s disappointment about our last draw in the League.

“We did well for a while but then we know how it ended. Still, tomorrow will be a different story: we’ll be focused on doing better.

“I know Lozano, I saw him in the Champions League and the World Cup: he has pace and technique. He’s a great player. I think he and Mertens can do well together.

“The Belgian’s a great player, he’s clever and he moves well between the lines. He plays well with both feet and also scores with his head.

Kalidou Koulibaly returns to the Luminus Arena for the first time since leaving for Napoli in 2014…

“He’s among the best centre-backs in the world and he wins every one-on-one. He’s also played here, so for us it’s a great source of pride.”