Luciano Spalletti defends Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and says Napoli players are ‘upset’ after their 1-0 loss against Inter.
The Partenopei are still the table leaders but no longer unbeaten after Wednesday’s defeat in Milan.
Spalletti began today’s press conference by remembering Gianluca Vialli. Napoli will face his former club Sampdoria at Marassi tomorrow.
“I played against him in 1985 in Chiavari, we used to do friendlies because there were no mid-week games at that time,” said Spalletti.
“You could already see his leadership skills. He had great charisma, vision and ideas on and off the pitch.
“He was one of the first Italian players to be successful in the Premier League, also as a coach. I remember his competence at Sky, and his respect for everyone, we’ve learned a lot from him.”
What did Napoli learn against Inter?
“We learned that we could be eight points above, but we only have five points more [than Milan],” Spalletti said smiling.
“A defeat can happen, our season is still positive, but the truth is that we are upset. We didn’t do what we wanted against Inter and we must not be happy with the advantage we have.
“We want to play difficult games against teams built to win the Scudetto with the same desire to get a victory. There will be three or four changes in the next game.
“Kvaratskhelia? I think he didn’t do well, he was looking for spaces, he took responsibility and played with confidence. I’m his first defender.”