Juve, Napoli back to basics after dream dates away in Europe
>> MILAN: Juventus and Napoli get back to Serie A basics tomorrow after impressive Champions League wins.
Champions Juventus, favourites for a record sixth consecutive ‘scudetto’, can feel confident of maintaining their one-point lead on Napoli at Empoli.
Having limped to a scoreless draw at home to Sevilla, Massimiliano Allegri’s men put four goals past Dinamo Zagreb in a 4-0 Champions League win on Wednesday that left them top of Group H.
“When you have to win, it’s never easy,” Allegri said after Tuesday’s game in Zagreb.
“The lads did great, but we have to maintain our concentration and hunger for Empoli.”
Despite Juve signing Higuain from Napoli on a €90 miliion deal earlier this summer, the southerners are not suffering from his absence.
Indeed, some believe his departure has liberated Napoli from Higuain’s obsession of breaking Gunnar Nordahl’s 66-year-old record of 35 goals in a single season.
Higuain succeeded with a new tally of 36, but when asked how Napoli had adapted to life without him, former teammate Dries Mertens said on Wednesday: “We’re playing more as a team.”
Mertens hit a brace as Napoli swept Benfica aside 4-2 at the San Paolo to underline their last 16 credentials but, like Allegri, coach Maurizio Sarri won’t let complacency creep in.
Napoli face Atalanta in Bergamo tomorrow, and Sarri said: “We secured a great win against a top European side [Benfica], but we have to curb our enthusiasm.
“The reality is we now face Atalanta in Bergamo. We risk letting our concentration slip, but hopefully this team is mature enough not to let that happen.”