Napoli defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo admits that there is more work to be done, but feels the team took a step forward against Barcelona. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Robert Lewandowski and Victor Osimhen scoring a goal for either side, and speaking in a post-match interview with Prime Video, Di Lorenzo explained why he thinks there was progress from the Partenopei:
“We put in a good performance against a strong team, you could see something of what we tried yesterday even though there was little time. It’s an important starting point. We prepared for it in one and a half training sessions. But the team made themselves available. We know we need to do more, but today we took a step forward. Now we’ll play it in the return leg.”
Then on Osimhen and the qualification issue: “Victor is a great champion, he came back with the right mindset but we knew it. He will help us in these remaining games. For the return leg, everything is open, there it is a difficult field but we will play for the passage to the next round, which is important for everyone.”
Prime Video also featured an interview with Alex Meret, one of the best players on the night:
“They were two important saves, they allowed us to withstand the impact of the first minutes when we suffered a lot. The team’s attitude was important, then in the second half we were more organized and reacted like a great team after conceding the goal. We started below par but we could expect that, we were playing against a great team. We start from our last minutes. Osimhen has shown to be very important for us, we know his worth but how important he is is also the work of everyone else.”
Finally, Franck Anguissa also spoke to Sky Sport:
“Calzona knows the team well, he was here two years ago with Spalletti. He talked to everyone, he made us understand that the group is the most important thing. Today we didn’t win but we got an important draw, and we must take everything positively. When Napoli plays its way, it can win against anyone. I trust this team a lot, we win and lose together, we can easily win if everyone plays for the team. What went wrong with Mazzarri? I don’t know what to say, all coaches have ideas, sometimes it’s not that easy. I really liked Mazzarri as a person, this year we are a bit unlucky to have played so many games where we could have won. This season is difficult, but we continue to work. Seeing Victor score is good for the team, for the group, but today we did things together, not just one person wins. Osimhen scored but it’s the team that got the draw.”
