Bortolo Mutti admits Napoli’s “second goal killed us” and explains his Palermo substitutions in tonight’s debacle.
Bortolo Mutti admits Napoli’s “second goal killed us” and explains his Palermo substitutions in tonight’s debacle.
“The second goal killed us. The team has been changed quite a lot and we were missing players like Abel Hernandez and Mauricio Pinilla. They make the difference for us,” he said of the 3-1 home defeat.
“When everyone is fit then we’ll use a 4-3-1-2 or a 4-3-3 system. Now we also have Franco Vazquez, who will help us to express ourselves better.”
Vazquez was signed 10 days ago and thrown straight into the starting XI for his debut, but after his substitution at half-time Palermo lost their way.
“I made two changes at the break to try something different. Both Edgar Alvarez and Afriyie Acquah have great physicality, but it didn’t work.
“I honestly thought that we would have achieved something different, although I am happy with the first half. I knew Vazquez had talent, but he hadn’t played for a long time and so I asked him to give us 45 minutes. He can give us a big hand this season.
“We conceded a goal on the counter-attack, which is what Napoli do best. We’ve got to improve in terms of intensity and were too timorous in some situations.”
This was Mutti’s home debut, having played only a 2-2 draw away to Novara before Christmas. He is Palermo’s third Coach of the season after Stefano Pioli and Devis Mangia.