Luciano Spalletti was impressed with the attitude from Napoli to dominate Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League and hit out at the ‘cliché about Italian defensive football.’
The Partenopei have one foot in the Champions League quarter-final after this 2-0 victory at the Deutsche Bank Park, sealed by Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, while Kvicha Kvaratskhelia also saw his penalty saved by Kevin Trapp.
“I am very satisfied with the performance, because from the start the team played with character, took control of the game and did what we wanted to do. There are no complaints, although we had the opportunity to score more goals, but this is good,” Spalletti told Sport Mediaset.
“The key was that in trying to score a second goal, we must never lose our balance. The team took a mature approach and I am pleased with that.
“The dangerous thing here was allowing them to take control of the game, as they cover spaces that tactically with the 4-3-3 tend to empty out. My team did really well to press high, refuse to let them start those counter-attacks, and that immediate aggression was crucial to prevent them getting back into shape.”
Away goals no longer count double in the knockout rounds, but a 2-0 advantage is still huge, and Eintracht’s top scorer Randal Kolo Muani will be suspended for the second leg on March 15 after he was sent off with a harsh straight red card for the studs-up tackle on Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa.
“I still think it’s 50-50 for qualification, because there is a game to play and just one incident can transform everything. We need the utmost humility, because when you face a team convinced that you have an advantage, you can then end up dealing with unexpected situations.
“Arrogance is the biggest enemy. We have proved that we belong there, but we still need to earn it in the second leg.”
Spalletti got something off his chest after the victory in Germany against the reigning Europa League holders, standing up for the quality of Serie A and Calcio in general.
“I am happy, even if I don’t smile. The team played a great game, they told us that perhaps we play some of the best football in Italy because in Italy the football is bad… Maybe Eintracht played in a more ‘Italian’ way by sitting back and defending. It’s time we got rid of this cliché about defensive Italian football.”
Napoli are 15 points clear at the top of the Serie A table, but have also now won six of their seven Champions League games this season and are the top scorers in the entire tournament.
Spalletti also revealed he had substituted Osimhen after seeing him doing some stretching exercises, but that the Nigerian striker “wanted to carry on” and was irritated at being replaced.