Rafa Benitez said Gonzalo Higuain “makes the difference” after Napoli beat Lazio and praised Ivan Strinic’s debut.
The Partenopei leapfrogged Lazio into third place thanks to this 1-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico.
“I confirm what I said before this game, that there are another 19 to go and nothing is secure yet. We have to keep working and move forward,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
Rafa Benitez said Gonzalo Higuain “makes the difference” after Napoli beat Lazio and praised Ivan Strinic’s debut.
The Partenopei leapfrogged Lazio into third place thanks to this 1-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico.
“I confirm what I said before this game, that there are another 19 to go and nothing is secure yet. We have to keep working and move forward,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
There have been reports that Higuain will push for a transfer to Liverpool over the summer if Napoli fail to qualify for the Champions League.
“I think Gonzalo is having a great season and played at a very high level. He made the difference in the Super Cup and did the same today. He is a forward who opposition defences always have to worry about.
“Gonzalo is proving that he’s focused and giving his best. I think it’s too early to discuss his future and he should focus only on having a great campaign.”
Strinic made his Serie A debut for the suspended Miguel Angel Britos and helped keep a clean sheet.
“I think he did well with the ball and it wasn’t easy to face Candreva or Lazio. He had a good game, especially in the second half.
“I don’t like talking about referees. We did enough of that during the week, but Rizzoli is a top level referee and had an easy game today.”
Benitez insisted Napoli could find consistency and went back over the 3-1 defeat to Juventus.
“We had a difficult start to the season after the defeat to Athletic Bilbao, then got back on form. We had another dip and recovered.
“I liked the second half against Juventus and we all saw what happened in that game, so the performance was still good.
“As I said, there are many points up for grabs, but every game will be difficult, so we have to take it one match at a time.”