Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti was unwilling to be drawn into any potential mind games after Pep Guardiola’s latest comments.
Spalletti’s side are having a very strong 22/23 season, in Serie A, they are currently 18 points clear at the top of the table, with Inter Milan their closest challengers.
Led by the likes of Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Napoli have also impressed on the European stage.
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They finished top of their group ahead of Liverpool and eased past Frankfurt in the round of 16 after a 5-0 aggregate victory.
Napoli’s fine form has led to Manchester City boss Guardiola naming them as the best in Europe.
He said: “Napoli are perhaps the best team in Europe this season. In terms of playing style, they are close to Arsenal. Then Milan are back and Inter too. They have both qualified.”
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However, Spalletti was quick to reject Guardiola’s claims.
The Napoli boss said: “I don’t feel proud, I don’t feel anything. I know this game that everyone does to put pressure on others.
“Are we putting Napoli in front of Manchester City? If they can spend €900m compared to our €9m, there must be a reason. It’s a game to build us up so they can knock us down.”
On reaching the last eight, Spalletti said: “It is a great result, we are going to enjoy it along with all our fans.
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“Now it becomes fundamental that we maintain the same attitude we had this evening, because we didn’t have the same quality as usual at the start, but we still executed the moves well and allowed very little to the opposition. We kept clear heads.
“If Napoli in the entire history of this club had not reached the quarter-finals before, that means this is a great result.”
Napoli will find out their quarter-final opponents on Friday afternoon when the draw takes place.
Can Napoli go all the way and lift the Champions League? Only time will tell.
Topics: Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Napoli, Champions League, Football
Marcus Chan