Napoli captain Giovanni di Lorenzo has stated that the 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the Champions League for the Serie A giants is the step in the right direction.
Napoli headed into the game at the back of a managerial change. Walter Mazzarri left the club on Monday and former assistant boss Francesco Calzona was appointed and he undertook training yesterday, as Victor Osimhen returned to the starting XI today.
While Barcelona created the better of the chances in the game, Osimhen hit back with a goal in response to a Robert Lewandowski strike to give Napoli hope.
After the game, Di Lorenzo spoke to Prime Video (via TMW) and stated: “We had a good performance against a strong team, we were compact and it is certainly an important starting point. We prepared this match in a training session and a half, the team made itself available. We have to do more but today it was a step forward. Now let’s think about the return.”
Osimhen being back starting and scoring goals is a big positive for the Partenopei, who had missed his goals and were held to a 1-1 draw by the Genoa at the weekend.
Di Lorenzo spoke about the Nigerian and said: “It’s an important return for us, he’s a great champion. He’s back with the right head, he’ll give us a hand in these remaining matches. He, Raspadori and Simeone, the coach has a lot of choice for the attacker.”
Calzona had never managed a club game before and considering the way Napoli fought hard and didn’t lose, he should be happy with the result.
Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
