Napoli head coach Luciano Spalletti believes that AC Milan have ‘some advantage’ heading into the game against his side at San Siro tomorrow night.
Milan played and beat Inter in the Derby della Madonnina earlier this month, but the feeling is that tomorrow’s game against Napoli is the biggest of the season so far given both sides have 14 points from their opening six league games, putting them joint top with Atalanta.
Napoli are absolutely flying after a summer with a lot of overhaul as they lost Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Fabian Ruiz and Kalidou Koulibaly, with Tanguy Ndombele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giacomo Raspadori among the new signings to have stepped up.
Spalletti spoke at his pre-match press conference on the eve of the trip to the San Siro, with his comments relayed by MilanNews and translated below.
Who comes into the game better off in your opinion? Have you already thought about training?
“Yes, two teams that are doing well, it becomes difficult to say who is in the lead, whoever takes the advance on the bets during the 90 minutes will be in advantage. They are two teams that pay little attention to the balance due to the desire to win games, sometimes you find high spaces and Milan knows how to readjust them immediately,” he said.
“Whoever manages the ball better will have the advantage. And then I can’t say anything else, I certainly can’t say it the day before. It would not be correct for the players to know today, I need more than 11 to get to the end of the game and they must all be motivated.”
What kind of exam is tomorrow’s match?
“I’m retiring (laughs), I have to do the last few years without exaggerating, at my age you have to go easy on emotions. It will be a good match for Italian football, I think Pioli also said that they are two teams similar, when I see them I notice things that I am pleased to see and that I point out to my players.
“They have been very good at keeping everything together because they have gone through difficult moments, but they have overcome them and have all pulled on the same side and they won for some details, again this year it will be like this or even more difficult because they have the experience of last year and they have been working there for 3 years, it’s the truth, they also rejuvenated a lot last year, putting together guys to formidable champions.”
Will Napoli and Milan compete for the Scudetto?
“Milan are healthy because they have freshness and creativity. I don’t know about the comparison, it’s still early. They are the Italian champions, they have some advantage and we will have to be good at growing quickly, more than them, because having won given further strength and having started again well he reconfirmed them. We will have to go faster if we want to grab them, they are in front.”
Pioli said Napoli have signed little-known but suitable players…
“A Napoli built with technical players, thinking it could be a group, a group that plays compactly, with the same idea. A bit like them, even in this they resemble us and take the best for the characteristics of our players.”
