Luciano Spalletti hails the ‘mentality’ of his Napoli players after a 3-0 win away to Spezia and assures they have every intention of going for Champions League glory too. ‘You can either stick or twist and we’ve made our decision.’
It was a dominant scoreline, but the coach was screaming furiously at his players throughout the first half when it was still goalless at the Stadio Alberto Picco.
They were rather gifted an opener by a foolish Arkadiusz Reca handball, allowing Kvicha Kvaratskhelia to convert the penalty, then the Georgian set up two more goals for Victor Osimhen.
“The difference in these games, at this time and in these stadiums, is made by the mentality of the players. You have to start preparing from the night before, as there’s no time to get ready in the morning,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia.
“Spezia had great tactical balance, they pressed us hard in midfield and then when they did sit back, the spaces were reduced to the minimum.”
Despite the goals, it was Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia who were most shouted at in the first half by Spalletti.
“We need their quality, their creativity, their imagination, as they are the ones who can make the difference and open up paths where there are none.
“Just moving it around isn’t enough, we had to open up a channel, as it was so difficult to move the ball around today, the pitch was very dry and hard. We couldn’t find the same tempo we were accustomed to, so at times we need to go for short-cuts and make the most of Osimhen’s physicality.
“Stanislav Lobotka is certainly a talented player who can take the team into his hands, but he tends to stick to shorter passes, so we work more as a unit than with midfielders for example who can go with greater vision.
“That means when we are lacking the moment of magic from an individual, the team manages to create the chance by working as a unit.”
This result puts the Partenopei temporarily 16 points clear at the top of the table, awaiting the Derby della Madonnina tonight between Inter and Milan.
Napoli are also preparing for the Champions League Round of 16 against Eintracht Frankfurt, so is Spalletti aiming to take each day as it comes or go for it all?
“There are moments in life when you achieve results and then you can either stick or twist. We have no doubts on that, we have made our decision to gamble for double, going to attack every game and trying to achieve something for the love of these fans who were all praying for us today. We must be proud of the love Neapolitans have for us and to translate that onto the pitch.”
Spalletti also took a moment to note that La Spezia means a lot to him, having been here as a player, it is where he met his wife, where two of his children were born and he still has a house in the city.