Former coach Fabio Capello praises ‘smart’ Inter and Simone Inzaghi after a 1-0 Champions League win over Arsenal and feels Sunday’s big game against Napoli will be ‘more important’ for Antonio Conte’s men than the Nerazzurri.
Inter and Napoli meet at San Siro on Sunday in the big match of Serie A Round 12.
The Partenopei lost 3-0 to Atalanta last week, while the Nerazzurri have four victories in the last five league games and beat Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
I believe Sunday’s game will be very important, especially for Napoli,” Capello told Gazzetta on Friday.
“Not because Inter could overtake them. This match is particularly important because it comes after a tough loss against Atalanta. The Inter game offers a chance to bounce back straight away, and I am sure Conte has hammered the team.
“The coach’s work is even more crucial now,” continued Capello.
Capello: Inzaghi ‘smart’ against Arsenal, Inter vs Napoli ‘more important’ for Conte
“Conte has to delete the images of the defeat against Atalanta. The concept is: ‘We are not those of Sunday.’ The following step will be to build a brave Napoli with personality, like the team that deservedly beat Milan at San Siro.”
Inter have only lost one Serie A game this season and are still unbeaten in the Champions League, where they drew against Manchester City before beating Arsenal, Young Boys and Crvena Zvezda.
“Inter have found a good balance because Inzaghi rotates the team but keeps good results and performances,” noted Capello.
“Everything is going well in the Champions League, and the victory against Arsenal has greatly boosted the whole environment and increased the players’ confidence. The most important thing going towards the Napoli wame was to rest some starters, especially on the left with Bastoni and Dimarco.
“Inter are often dominant; they raise and lower the intensity when they want. They proved to be smart against Arsenal. They understood that they had to be more defensive to impose themselves.”
The Nerazzurri are the defending Serie A champions. They sit second in the Serie A table, just one point below leaders Napoli.
The Nerazzurri have scored 25 goals and conceded 13 in Serie A this season. Napoli have netted 18 times but have conceded just eight goals so far this term.
Source: Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, Friday, November 8, 2024, on page 5.