Having more than 60% of possession wasn’t enough for Napoli to get a solid control on the match when they played with Palermo and lost 3-1 which has hurt their chances of getting closer to As.Roma and snatch the 2nd spot in the Italian League, Serie A.
“We allowed a goal that no one was expecting. He had been doing really well. Any time a goalie makes a mistake it doesn’t go unnoticed. We`re fighting for second place and we want to close the gap on Roma as much as possible.’’ Rafael Benitez said following the conclusion of the match.
Rafael Benitez has unveiled to the public that he and his team are setting their sights on the 2nd spot of the league which would allow them on securing a Champions League spot and avoid having to get through the qualifiers which is what would happen if Napoli is only able to seal the 3rd spot instead of the 2nd.
The Spanish manager was well aware of the threat that Palermo represented as 3-3 was the final result of the match when they played earlier in the season and that game was played in the home turf of Napoli, this 2nd battle between both clubs was played in the home soil of Palermo and they sealed a pretty convincing triumph even though they had to settle with only 37% of possession throughout the entire match.
Fortunately for Rafael Benitez and Napoli, As.Roma has not been going through the best of times in these past few weeks as they drew against Palermo, Fiorentina, Empoli and Parma. These results have seen As.Roma dropping important points and allowing Napoli to catch up.
During the month of January, As.Roma has collected a total of only 7 points out of the possible 15 meanwhile Napoli experienced a better month as the team of Benitez secured 9 points from a total of 12.
Benitez is hoping that his team can continue their momentum and not allow this defeat slow them down as they still have a chance on snatching the 2nd spot.