The Partenopei boss is confident of beating Andre Villas Boas’s side, but warns his team against complacency ahead of the game at Stadio San Paolo
Napoli manager, Walter Mazzarri, has revealed that his team is in better position than their UEFA Champions League opponents, Chelsea, ahead of their last-16 round match against the Blues.
The Partenopei side will host the first of the two-legged tie at Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday, February 21.
Napoli witnessed a morale boosting result in their latest league game, as they trounced Fiorentina by 3-0 at Stadio Artemio Franchi recently. Before the win at Florence, Mazzarri’s side were going through a very rough period in
the league.
On the other hand, things are not going as planned for Andre Villas Boas’s Chelsea too. The London side played a 1-1 draw against Championship side, Birmingham City in their latest FA Cup match on Saturday.
Mazzarri believes that every team undergoes a negative period, and so was the case with his team. He believes that things are changing for the Azzurri and they have started to find their best form.
The 50-year-old has insisted that his team are better prepared than their rivals for Tuesday’s game, but conceded that the Blues have more experience of playing in Europe. The former Sampdoria boss insists that his team cannot
afford any hiccup against Chelsea, and he is confident that they will perform the same way as they have done throughout the Champions League.
While talking to Rai Sport, Mazzarri said,
“We went through a negative period, but that is something that every team has at times. We kept conceding at the first opportunity, but now things are changing. Things go better for us, partly because we work on them during the
week.”
“Perhaps we are in better shape than Chelsea going into this game, but they have champions who are accustomed to playing a certain level of game. On Tuesday they know that they cannot make a mistake, so will become unified and
I doubt we’ll be facing a team in crisis. Naturally, at this level you need a bit of luck too.”
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 topped their respective group.
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