After a frustrating 2-2 stalemate for the Partenopei against Frosinone on Neapolitan soil this afternoon, Napoli coach Francesco Calzona provided his analysis of the fixture in the post-match presser.
Matteo Politano seized the opener for last season’s champions with a stunning curler from a long-way out, leaving the young goal-keeper Stefano Turati with no chance whatsoever in preventing the ball from entering in the back of the net.
However, the Gialloblu responded swiftly as Italian custodian David Meret made a grave error as he was stripped of the ball within his box following a high-press from Walid Cheddira, resulting in the Moroccan international obtaining the equalizer with plenty of ease.
Although Victor Osimhen helped his side regain the lead, The Partenopei back-line was far too brittle as the Napoli loanee struck once again with a thundering header to obtain a brace, as he was found without any marker in his sight by a well-weighted center by Nadir Zortea.
As a result, the underwhelming result finds Napoli in eighth place with a total of 49 points, six points below fifth-placed Roma whom have a game in-hand as they face Udinese later on this evening.
While speaking to the press, as relayed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Calzona gave his input on the match, emphasizing on the Partenopei’s struggle to hang onto both leads throughout the fixture and to close-off the match:
“Even today we were lucky enough to take the lead twice and we created a lot, but I never had the perception that we were truly in control of the match. There is never the ability to smell danger and there is a lack of management of the moment. We don’t have the characteristics to run backwards and we always get stuck.
“The crowd must be an advantage for us and we just have to thank them, people at this level cannot feel the pressure rather they should bring people to their side.
“As mentioned, this is not acceptable also because they had worked hard during the week to address this point of view. I asked for ball management against a young team with more fuel than us. Unfortunately, we didn’t succeed in what I intended, the way we suffered, for example the penalty, is unacceptable.
“We still have to believe in Europe, mathematics does not condemn us and it would be unforgivable to stop fighting. Of course, this is a major setback. Now the objective we pursue must be the push that must move us also because we can do significantly better than today by finding solidity through a different compactness.”
