Spalletti identifies where Napoli lost game to Inter

Luciano Spalletti explains where Napoli lost the Scudetto showdown with Inter at San Siro, admitting they were ‘below par’ and moved the ball ‘too slowly without the usual quality.’

The Partenopei had been the only side in Europe’s top five Leagues to still be unbeaten this season and ended 22 with 11 consecutive Serie A victories.

However, they were unable to adequately trouble Andre Onana and admitted defeat at San Siro to an Edin Dzeko header on Federico Dimarco’s cross.

“Inter did what they always do, try to press with Hakan Calhanoglu on Stanislav Lobotka, and that is where we should’ve done better to find passes out to the final third.

“That opened up space behind Calha, but we didn’t move the ball around with our usual quality, it was always a bit slow and predictable, without finding the space behind their midfielders.

“We can do more in terms of quality and seeking different solutions to attack those spaces. Effectively, some of our players were a little below par today. So were you in the studio, you deserved to be substituted,” joked Spalletti on DAZN.

Napoli dominated possession, but it was largely futile and they hardly ever created truly dangerous situations upfront, forcing just one Andre Onana save in the final minute.

“You are meant to move the ball side to side in order to pull the opposition out of shape, but that doesn’t work when you do it slowly and without the usual quality.”

Considering the high Inter line, should Napoli not have tried going long occasionally for Victor Osimhen?

“We tried a few times, but Francesco Acerbi is very physical and takes his position well, so it’s not that easy. Inter are organised and very physical, we needed more strength in the tackles and those aren’t really our characteristics.”

This result means their eight-point lead at the top of the table has been chopped down to just five from Milan, seven above Juventus and eight away from fourth-placed Inter.

Spalletti was asked how Napoli will handle their first truly costly defeat in all competition this season?

“We will probably train better than we did before, because what I saw tonight was below our capabilities, so evidently it’s my fault and we need to do better in training to find our form and fitness. We then play the games and see what happens.”