RAFA PLAYS IT DOWN

Napoli manager Rafa Benitez has played down the significance of a 1-0 defeat against FC Porto in the first leg by saying that his team can still qualify for the quarter-finals of the Europa league.

After failing to get past the Champions League group stages, Napoli have been demoted to the Europa league. This is the second successive season in this competition Rafa Benitez, who managed to win it with Chelsea in the summer. He is eyeing a repeat of the same this time around, but Napoli were dealt a huge blow after Jackson Martinez scored the only goal of the game in Portugal.

Benitez says that a 2-0 win for Napoli in the second leg is not out of possibility. He says that the Italian outfit wanted to be defensively solid, but it was not possible in the first half. However, the improved much better in the second half, but the goal from Martinez in the 57th minute was definitely a major setback for the team. He says that the home advantage in the second leg will certainly provide Napoli with confidence that they can go through. The club will be shifting their focus towards this match after falling out of the title race in Italian Serie A.

They have almost sealed up the third place, which will guarantee them Champions League football next season.
"One-nil is a bad result for us, but we can win 2-0 at the San Paolo. Our idea was to do well defensively and start creating dangers as well. We did not do this at first but in the second half we were able to do it and we could have scored a goal. I saw a couple of situations in the first half when we had to be more precise and do damage. Playing the second leg at our home stadium can make a difference, but Porto are strong in attack which can make the difference, too,” said Benitez.