Maurizio Sarri is tempted by Scudetto talk after closing on Juventus. “If it was up to me, we’d march on the palace and take back power…”
The Partenopei closed the gap on leaders Juventus to just two points after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Genoa, sealed by a Raul Albiol header from a corner.
The pressure was on to deliver after Juve were held to a goalless draw by SPAL last night, ending the run of 12 consecutive victories.
Maurizio Sarri is tempted by Scudetto talk after closing on Juventus. “If it was up to me, we’d march on the palace and take back power…”
The Partenopei closed the gap on leaders Juventus to just two points after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Genoa, sealed by a Raul Albiol header from a corner.
The pressure was on to deliver after Juve were held to a goalless draw by SPAL last night, ending the run of 12 consecutive victories.
“We are clearly above where we expected to be. This was an important game, we were coming back from two matches without a win, although I felt our performance against Inter was underestimated,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.
“It was very difficult this evening, you just had to read Genoa’s statistics away from home, as they concede very few on their travels. They had some very strong recent results, so it was entirely obvious this was going to be a difficult match.
“We were up against a team that was clammed up in defence and dangerous on the counter. We didn’t move the ball quickly enough until the last 20 minutes of the first half and we did it in fits and starts in the second half.
“A dead ball situation was one of the few options we had to break this Genoa defence down. Our best chances with Dries Mertens and Allan came from our usual quick passing game, but we only did it at times. It wasn’t easy with the way Genoa were set out.
“We’ve been talking all week about the need for patience against Genoa.”
There are nine rounds left, including a head-to-head in Turin, with only two points separating Napoli from Juventus.
“At this stage last season, Juventus had basically already won the title, so this means we are causing them real problems. It’ll be very difficult.”
With that head-to-head and just a two-point gap, does that mean Napoli’s Scudetto destiny is in their hands once more?
“It’s hard to say. If it was up to me, we’d march on the palace and take back power, but we can only try to go as far as possible and do as well as possible.
“This is already the second best campaign in Napoli’s history in terms of points, so we’ll keep pushing.”
Sarri had always complained that Napoli played after Juventus more or less every week, but this time it proved to be a boon, as they watched SPAL stall the Bianconeri.
“It’s an advantage this time to play after Juventus drew, but seeing as Juve win nine times out of 10, it’s a disadvantage nine times out of 10.”
There were some concerns for Napoli, as Marek Hamsik went off with a muscular problem in the first half.
“Hamsik felt a flexor issue and the break for international duty probably comes at the right time for him. Of course, it’s a break only in relative terms, seeing as we have 10-15 players flying all over the world. I think the players find it even more tiring than playing every three days, as some have to cross continents.”