Luciano Spalletti was visibly disappointed after Napoli’s home defeat to Milan blew the Scudetto race wide open. ‘If you cannot handle the pressure, it becomes almost impossible to win.’
The Partenopei went into this round as Serie A leaders, ahead of the Rossoneri on goal difference, but now find themselves in third place behind Inter.
Olivier Giroud scored the only goal, redirecting a wayward Davide Calabria effort with the inside of the boot into the far bottom corner.
Serie A | Napoli 0-1 Milan: Giroud decides Scudetto showdown
David Ospina also had to make more saves than Mike Maignan, who was only really tested by Victor Osimhen at the near post.
“They won and we lost,” shrugged a visibly disappointed Spalletti on DAZN.
“We started well, passed it around, should’ve perhaps made different choices in some situations, but we made a few mistakes after the restart and were not incisive enough to create scoring opportunities.
“We conceded an avoidable goal, then Milan did better in their defending.”
Stanislav Lobotka made his comeback in midfield, but the Rossoneri seemed to control the middle of the park.
“When you have some qualities and use them well, you can cover up for the lack of other qualities. If you pass it well, you don’t need to be as physical. We were missing some players, while others aren’t fully fit, for example Fabian Ruiz has this lumbago and needs to be used carefully.
Napoli had won 1-0 at San Siro in controversial circumstances, with a late Franck Kessie goal disallowed, so this means the head-to-head record is identical.
If two teams finish level on points in Serie A, head-to-head record is the first criteria to divide them.
Spalletti was asked if this Napoli side struggles to deal with pressure, especially on home turf, after the heavy Europa League defeat here to Barcelona and stalemate with Inter.
“If you play for the top of the table the way we did this evening, then the level goes up. If you cannot handle the pressure, then it becomes almost impossible to win.
“People are made in very different ways, they have their own characters and souls. This is the level you have to handle in a city like Naples, so if you can’t handle that pressure, you have to step aside.
“I can assure you, I will be here tomorrow morning with the training plan ready. If you think I won’t be right back at work tomorrow, you’ve lost.”