Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri has described the atmosphere during his side’s latest home Champions League match as ‘extraordinary’ and ‘infectious’.
The club from Naples beat Benfica 4-2 in what was a cauldron of an atmosphere at the Stadio San Paolo. Sarri spoke to “?Mediaset television about the way in which the fans pushed his team to victory.
“My real debut in this competition was in Kiev and you could feel that it was going to be an important game, but there was not an atmosphere like this one there.”
“The atmosphere here at the San Paolo in these occasions is extraordinary. When we came out of the tunnel, I already felt different to how I had in Kiev.
“The roar of the fans was infectious and it’s something which remains tattooed to your skin.
“It’s certainly not easy to crush a team like Benfica and we have got to be proud of what we showed here for 70 minutes,” Sarri said.
The Napoli boss also hinted at the great team spirit that his squad possesses.
“We should also be proud of something else: I saw [Lorenzo] Insigne run 50 yards to hug [Dries] Mertens after he made it 2-0 and this is a sign of what a great group we have. I’m happy for the lads. They’re doing really well.”
But he was careful to remind his team of their lapse in concentration, as they let Benfica back into the game by conceding two goals in the last 20 minutes.
“If something was meant to happen to wake my team up, then I’d say it came at the right time,” Sarri said. “I hope that the lads go home a bit angry because they conceded two goals that they could have avoided.”
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