Spalletti: ‘Koulibaly a great Napoli leader’
Luciano Spalletti praised ‘great man’ Kalidou Koulibaly after the comeback win over Juventus, warning Napoli ‘are what we do, not what we say.’
The game had started on a nightmare note for the Partenopei, as Kostas Manolas was caught in possession for the Alvaro Morata opener.
However, Juve also made costly errors, from which Matteo Politano and Kalidou Koulibaly turned the match around for a 2-1 victory at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
It maintains their perfect start to the season under coach Spalletti, with three wins out of three.
“A coach tries to make changes during the half-time break, but the reaction of the players is what’s fundamental,” he told DAZN.
“Nobody gives you results, you have to turn these things around. We did more in the second half, added Adam Ounas in that position and that opened up a few more spaces.
“There was general pressure all around that prompted errors, both from Juventus and Napoli. Juve were sitting deeper and their wing-backs caused us problems, because they put dangerous balls in behind the defence. We have to do better.
“We deserved to win, but it wasn’t as clean a victory as it could’ve been.”
Spalletti had already praised Koulibaly before the game for changing flight twice and going straight to the training ground after international duty with Senegal.
“He really is remarkable. He always adds those two or three notches more than anyone else, he’s an extraordinary leader and a great man. We are what we do, not what we say.”
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa was thrown straight into the starting XI for his debut and proved to be one of the most impressive performers in midfield.
“Anguissa brings the qualities that we were lacking in the side. What I need to bring to this squad is more calm, to build on the good work that Gennaro Gattuso did last season. Too often, this team has a storm in a teacup, such as Osimhen’s red card for a reaction foul against Venezia.”