Napoli’s new manager Francesco Calzona commended his team’s performance against Barcelona following a 1-1 draw on Wednesday night.
He was announced as the team’s head coach a day ago and his first game in charge was a big contest against the La Liga giant Barcelona at the Stadio Armando Maradona Stadium, in Italy.
Robert Lewandowski fired the visitors to an early lead in the second half of the stringent encounter, but of course, Osimhen’s 75th-minute strike (which was Napoli’s only shot on goal) leveled up the game at 1-1; both teams sharing the spoils at full-time.
It was Osimhen’s first game for the Azzurri since returning from the AFCON where he guided Nigeria to the final but unfortunately lost the prestigious trophy to the host nation.
“I want to say well done to the lads. I saw their team spirit and their willingness to fight again.
“I’m happy with the mentality they showed, but there is obviously a lot of work to be done tactically. I saw a great response in the last half an hour. Even those who came off the bench gave life and energy to the game.
“We allowed Barcelona to cross the lines, which is something you can’t afford to do with a team like this. However, especially after the break, we showed great quality. It’s a good step forward, and we’ve got to keep this up. We’ve shown some positive signs.
“The lads have got the right attitude. They gave everything to not fall to a great opponent. Sometimes we were a little disorganized, but if we manage to play to our caliber, we’ll see some great progress.
“We’re Napoli. We’ve got some problems but we’re a group with huge potential. We’ll put in the work so we can go and play that second leg in Barcelona.”
