Wednesday, 20th August, 2014
Napoli manager Rafael Benitez believes that Athletic Bilbao cannot afford to sit back and defend in front of their home fans next week in the return leg of their Champions League playoff tie.
Athletic Bilbao earned a 1-1 draw against the Italian side last night in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie at the Stadio San Paolo.
Benitez insists that Napoli need to continue with the same preparation for next week and be more positive as they need to score to stay alive in the tie.
“For next week we just carry on with the same preparation, preparing the team physically, technically and tactically and also, in this case, to manage the atmosphere and mentality because we know that we have to score”, the Spaniard told UEFA.
The former Liverpool manager feels that the Basque side cannot afford to sit back and defend at the San Mames next week even though he is not expecting a very open game.
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“I think they will also try to push forward to score: they cannot go there in front of their fans and just sit down watching the game.
“We have good players in attack but we have seen that they are compact, they play narrowly and they press well so I don't see a very open game.”
Benitez also stressed the importance of maintaining Napoli’s composure in the return leg and feels they need to score early to control the tempo of the tie.
“I can see with a team like them that they will try to push and to score because the fans will be pushing them anyway. We will try to control and we will try to score because we have to win.”
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