THE Naples coach, Massimiliano Allegri, admitted today that the Italian team will have to be prepared for a game of “a lot of suffering” against FC Porto, on Wednesday, in the Champions League football.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday) we either play a very painful game or we leave here defeated”, warned the Italian coach, in a press conference previewing the fourth round of the league phase, at Estádio do Dragão, in Porto.
Allegri acknowledged the difficulties his team is going through, at a time when they are facing multiple absences due to injury and a series of irregular results, but highlighted the quality of the ‘dragons’, who have not yet scored in the main European club competition.
“It will be difficult because they are coming off a winning streak in the championship, where they won every game, and in the Champions League they performed well. As for us, talking is of little use, what is needed is to put on a great performance”, he reiterated.
The Neapolitan coach highlighted FC Porto’s aggressiveness and technical and physical quality, considering that his team will have to present a high level in both offensive and defensive organization.
“We know that FC Porto is very aggressive and has high quality, technical and physical players at home”, he acknowledged.
Despite gaining just three points in the first three rounds of the Champions League, the Italian coach rejected that the match at Dragão constitutes a last opportunity to maintain his aspirations of qualifying for the knockout stage.
“It won’t be our last opportunity, as I said previously that with 10 points we will go to the play-offs. The game is important, but the stage will be disputed”, he assured.
Regarding the options available for the duel in the ‘undefeated’ city, Allegri revealed that Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund has recovered from a feverish episode, while the use of Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne remains in doubt.
“Hojlund no longer has a fever and in relation to De Bruyne we will train today to see if he will be available for the game”, he clarified.
Full-backs Giovanni Di Lorenzo and MathÃas Olivera were injured in the Neapolitans’ defeat against Juventus (2-0), on Sunday, and were definitively sidelined from the match.
In addition to these, David Neres and Alisson Santos, who have already represented Benfica and Sporting, respectively, also remain out of the accounts of the current eighth placed team in Serie A, as do Leonardo Spinazzola, Stanislav Lobotka and Benoît Badiashile.
Asked about his compatriot Francesco Farioli, his FC Porto counterpart, Allegri praised the ‘blue and white’ coach’s career, highlighting the results achieved in the Netherlands, with Ajax, and in Portugal.
“He is a young coach who has already achieved good results, both at Ajax and now at FC Porto, so he has a very promising career ahead of him”, he considered.
FC Porto, 34th in the league phase, still without points, will host on Wednesday Nápoles, 22nd, with three, at Estádio do Dragão, at 8pm, in a match on the fourth round of the Champions League, refereed by the Englishman Michael Oliver.
