Salernitana coach Paulo Sousa explains how he knew they could ruin the Scudetto celebrations for Napoli. ‘We needed to wait for the right moment.’
There will be no Scudetto party this evening, as the Partenopei were unable to get the victory they needed against local rivals Salernitana.
Mathias OIivera’s header from a corner had seemed to be the breakthrough, but Boulaye Dia had other ideas, shrugged off Victor Osimhen and fired in the equaliser.
“We had two decisions to make. We knew that defending deeper – not something I like to do – was the first choice, then after conceding the goal, we reshuffled and tried to hurt them,” Sousa told DAZN.
“Emil Bohinen had the chance to score too from close range, we knew Napoli enjoyed having possession, but when the collective cannot create clear opportunities, then their individuals can take men on and create dangerous situations.
“Reading the game, we realised that we needed to wait for the right moment to strike and that is what we did. If we had pressed them from the start, it could’ve opened up spaces for their counter-attacks.
“I am happy, because we made the right decisions and showed that against strong teams like Napoli, we can have our say.”
Salernitana and Lazio had been irritated at the way they were made to seem like mere extras in the Scudetto celebrations, to the degree that this fixture was moved from Saturday afternoon to Sunday with very little notice.
There also seemed to be some tension on the touchline between Sousa and members of the Napoli staff.
“I am a passionate man, you feel that on the touchline, and it comes out in the celebrations. We knew that even if we didn’t see much of the ball, we could still have our say in the final minutes.”
This was not a team to be taken for granted, as they are now unbeaten in nine Serie A rounds, including seven stalemates.
They also maintain their distance from the relegation zone, which is the main objective of their campaign.