Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti has heaped praise upon Inter striker Lautaro Martinez after the Nerazzurri beat his team 3-2 on Sunday evening, according to a report in the Italian broadcast media tonight.
Speaking to DAZN after the match, via FCInter1908, Luciano Spalletti labelled Inter forward Lautaro Martinez as a champion.
The pair worked together when the Argentine first came to the club as Luciano Spalletti was the manager of the Nerazzurri then.
“Lautaro is a very strong player, when he arrived he had to settle into the team, but when I gave him space he did what he had to. He’s proving to be a champion, that’s it.
“In the second half we did a lot better in the game, some more courageous choices and some unpredictable balls.
“In the first half we did little, we were looking for solutions without character. Sometimes we arrived late and gave them space, but we had a high-level game.”
The width and dynamism that Inter’s wing backs play with caused real problems for Napoli in the match and it’s clear that Luciano Spalletti struggled to cope with Matteo Darmian and Ivan Perisic.
“Inter’s wingers? With them it becomes difficult to play with a different tactical attitude. The line has to stay very narrow because you have to get there with the full-back on their fifth player.
“When the distances get longer it becomes difficult, but then there is a space in the middle, sometimes we found it, it depends on the quality of possession of the ball.
“If you spin it well and pile into the area, they hardly find the distance of the wingers. Sometimes, however, they are the ones who decide with their quality. These are the preparations that must be put into the game.”
The 3-2 loss was Napoli’s first Serie A defeat of the season and their first ever Serie A defeat under Luciano Spalletti.
The Azzurri took the lead through Piotr Zielinski but fell 3-1 down thanks to Hakan Calhanoglu, Ivan Perisic and Lautaro Martinez. Dries Mertens goal was not enough to rescue anything.
