Spalletti reacts to Napoli 1-1 draw against Barcelona

As expected, there have been reactions over the 1-1 draw played between Barcelona and Napoli at the Camp Nou in the knockout stage of the Europa League.

First is from Napoli coach, Luciano Spalletti who admitted Barcelona deserved a draw against Napoli in the Europa League play-off but insists ‘that was not a penalty after the Juan Jesus fingertip graze was considered handball. I will grant the power.

The Partenopei had the perfect start at Camp Nou. They took the lead through a Piotr Zielinski strike, set up by some great work from Eljif Elmas. However, Barca restored parity through a Ferran Torres penalty in the Europa.

Despite their big item, Barca inevitably dominated possession in the second half, they rarely tested Alex Meret, penalty, awarded because Juan Jesus grazed an Adama Traore cross with his fingertips.

Speaking ahead of the return leg at the Diego Maradona stadium, he said his men tried to keep it tight in the second half, but ended up going too deep, which he noted as a  problem when you do it against Barcelona.

He said the display in the first interval proved that the Serie A team could play on level terms with Barcelona. According to him, they controlled the initiative after the break, adding that these are things that can be fixed.

While pointing out that the first half performance can be repeated in an entire match, Spalletti urged his defenders to keep their hands behind their backs at all times, which limits movement when running.

Having earned a valuable draw against the Catalan giant at Camp Nou, it is left for Napoli to finish the business in Italy.

Before that time, Napoli will have to concentrate on its domestic actions. They will travel to Cagliari on February 23 for their next Serie A clash.

Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed