Fiorentina-Napoli 0-3, Stellini: "A first half of the season difficult to imagine"

Florence, 4 January 2025 - On the day of asterisks due to the Supercoppa Italiana, which are added to those already present in the ranking, the Napoli it breaks out at Franchi, beating the Fiorentina with a trio signed by Neres, Lukaku (on penalty) and McTominay, for one 0-3 which is worth the temporary lead in the rankings over the others, including obviously Atalanta e Inter, with one and two games less respectively.  

Stellini's statements

In place of Antonio Conte, at the microphones after the match, the assistant coach introduces himself Christian stellini, which immediately explains the reason for his boss's silence. "We are very happy with the victory, but we have suffered a bad blow with the loss of a person very close to us. Napoli. It's about a sick child to whom we tried to give moments of joy, while he gave us so much strength. That's why the coach didn't feel like talking. We're taking this opportunity to send a message of strength to the family and to all the children who are suffering". Words that, by themselves, are enough to explain what happened. It's hard to talk about the much lighter facts, related to the field. "I don't know if a victory like that is a sign of change, but what it shows is that the boys are working well. We're proud of what we're doing. Especially of the 44 points, unimaginable at the beginning of the season: now we hope to continue working in this way".

Palladino's statements

From winner to loser: Raphael Palladino he rebels against one 0-3 perhaps too heavy for his team, but not due to some refereeing decisions that displeased the Franchi. "The mistakes, if there were any, are part of the game and as always I prefer not to talk about referees. In any case, we approached very well, but the Napoli with his cynicism he legitimized his victory. They had the ball in the middle of the match and unfortunately the third goal cut our legs off. We have a lot of young players and we have to learn from games like that, reset and think about the next match". In fact, some blunders by individuals did not go unnoticed, which then paved the way for the Azzurri and, indeed, their cynicism. "Only by making mistakes and working can we grow. My job is to analyze every detail of what we are or are not doing. Today we defended ourselves well on their rotations, but we did poorly on winning back the ball, often giving it to them. It will serve as experience for us". Not just the young players: also the choices of Palladino, especially those related to the module and the three-man defense, have left many doubts. "Everything was done in function of the opponent and the 3-4-3 it's still in our strings, as is the 4-2-3-1, with whom we did very well. Tactically we played well and for long stretches we put them in difficulty, beyond what the numbers say. This 0-3 it's hard to accept - he admits Palladino - because we deserved at least one goal. Now, however, we must have the strength to look forward".