Luciano Spalletti saw ‘maturity’ from Napoli in the 2-0 win away to 10-man Sampdoria and gave updates on Kim Min-jae and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The Partenopei got back on track after suffering their first Serie A defeat of the season to Inter, pushing past troubled Samp at Marassi.
It was a hard-fought game, as Matteo Politano saw his very harsh penalty fingertipped onto the woodwork by Emil Audero, then Victor Osimhen met Mario Rui’s cross.
Tomas Rincon received a straight red card for his lunge on Osimhen, leaving Samp down to 10 men for almost an hour, but it took another spot-kick from Eljif Elmas late on to secure the points.
“I saw a very mature squad that was able to think carefully in a game that could’ve become complicated if we had been too emotional in our reaction. We used our heads, the result was never in doubt,” Spalletti told DAZN.
There was some confusion on the opening penalty, as touchline reporters suggest Spalletti wanted Elmas to take the first one rather than Politano.
“Elmas was meant to take them, but they organised themselves in a different way on the field and sorted it out between themselves, so it’s fine.”
Kim Min-jae went off at half-time for Amir Rrahmani, raising concerns about his fitness levels, but it was largely as a precaution.
“He felt the muscle harden and we didn’t want to risk losing him for a few months. He needs time to really get that match tempo back and we followed the indications of the medical staff.”
Osimhen is making his mark at Napoli not just as a regular scorer this season, but also for his leadership role in motivating his teammates.
“He has a way of staying on the field where he takes on all the responsibility and uses all the characteristics he needs in these games. Lately he is paying more attention to the movements to be co-ordinated with the whole team. There are many leaders who are silent too, but this is what it’s about.”
On the other hand, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia seems to have completely lost the confidence that made him so exciting in the first half of the season.
“He probably just needs to find that sharpness and match fitness. Don’t forget, he stopped playing even before the others because he had that back injury, so it has been an even longer break for him.”
Next up on Friday evening is the Scudetto showdown with Juventus, who got back into the title race on a run of eight consecutive victories with clean sheets.
“Juventus are the toughest team to face along with Inter and Milan, they are one of the best sides in the league for the players at their disposal, their coach and the strength of the club.”