Napoli’s defeat away to Villarreal left Matteo Politano facing up to an early mistake that changed the course of a match which had begun encouragingly for the Italian side.
The winger apologised to both his team-mates and the travelling supporters after the final whistle, admitting that his error had made Napoli’s task considerably harder.
Quick facts
- Napoli lost away to Villarreal.
- Matteo Politano accepted responsibility for an error during the match.
- He said Napoli had created significant chances before half-time.
- Politano felt the side became too stretched after the interval.
- He called for Napoli to rediscover a collective defensive mentality before breaking forward.
“I am sorry for the mistake I made,” Politano said. “I know I made a game that had started well much more difficult. I apologised to my team-mates and the fans.”
Napoli had opportunities to alter the result in the first half, but could not turn their better moments into a recovery. Politano expressed regret that the side had failed to overturn the situation.
The second half, in his view, exposed a loss of compactness. “We stretched ourselves too much, and when that happens it becomes difficult,” he said.
Politano also believed Villarreal showed greater cohesion as the match developed. Napoli, he added, made several poor decisions after the break and must return to defending as a unit before looking to launch their attacks.
“They were more of a team than us,” Politano said. “We have to rediscover the spirit of defending all together, then breaking forward.”
