Matteo Politano said Napoli are fragile at the back and must not use injuries as an alibi before their Champions League away game against FC Porto on Wednesday. The match matters for Napoli, who have one win and two defeats in the competition.
Politano's message before Porto
Politano said in his press conference: "A difficult game awaits us tomorrow. It’s true that we have some injuries, but this mustn’t be used as an alibi, we don’t want alibis at this moment."
Napoli play away to FC Porto at the Estadio do Dragao on Wednesday, with kick-off at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET). Porto have lost all three matches so far in the Champions League.
Defensive concerns
Politano said: "When we concede goals, it’s everyone’s fault and not just the defenders, this is a team sport."
He also said: "We are fragile at the moment, we can’t seem to defend as well as we did in previous years. We lack determination in pressing the opponents, so naturally against quality players you are going to pay for that."
Napoli lost 3-1 to Villarreal in the Champions League. Football Italia reported that Politano made a costly error with a back-pass in that defeat to Villarreal.
Line-up and response
Politano said: "We are the only ones who can drag ourselves out of this situation. We’ve got to give our all on the pitch, because this is a fundamental match for us."
He added: "We’ve got to come together as a unit and try from tomorrow to be more solid. We haven’t tested the line-up yet, so we don’t know if it’ll be three or four at the back, but it is no problem for me."
Porto and recent results
Politano said: "Porto are a strong side, they attack in numbers and know how to keep the ball for long spells, so there are moments when we’ll be pinned back, waiting to then launch forward on the counter."
Napoli go into the match after a 2-0 away defeat to Juventus in Serie A. Politano said: "It is fortunate that we have the opportunity so soon after the Juventus match to prove ourselves all over again, we were lacking something that we need to show tomorrow."
