Maurizio Sarri had a “particularly enjoyable” Napoli win over Atalanta and explained the Lorenzo Insigne touchline incident.
The Partenopei earned a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Azzurri d’Italia thanks to Dries Mertens, having been knocked out of the Coppa Italia by the Bergamo Boys earlier this month.
“Winning here is particularly enjoyable, because Atalanta always caused us problems and we know that we made our fans happy,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
Maurizio Sarri had a “particularly enjoyable” Napoli win over Atalanta and explained the Lorenzo Insigne touchline incident.
The Partenopei earned a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Azzurri d’Italia thanks to Dries Mertens, having been knocked out of the Coppa Italia by the Bergamo Boys earlier this month.
“Winning here is particularly enjoyable, because Atalanta always caused us problems and we know that we made our fans happy,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
“We had some difficulties with this team, so prepared very carefully and had a different build-up to how we usually approach games.”
Mertens ended his nine-match goal drought, which had lasted for 910 minutes of Serie A football.
“He had shown some signs of improvement even without scoring goals, so the drought was relative. It was obvious he’d get back to scoring goals eventually.”
The January transfer window is open and Sarri is doing his best to ignore it, even though Napoli were already involved, seeing their offer for Bologna winger Simone Verdi rejected.
“At this moment, a few alternatives could be useful, but if Arkadiusz Milik returns soon, then we can also use Mertens on the wing when needed. I’d love to focus all my energy on to the pitch and not other issues,” noted the Coach.
“I did call Verdi because the club told me he was close to making the move. I told him that he had full autonomy to make whatever decision he saw fit.”
Sarri’s future is also in doubt following reports of interest from Milan for next season.
“I have no problems to deal with, as contracts are relative. I just want to focus on my team. In two or three months, we’ll meet up and compare notes.”
There was a tense moment in today’s game when Insigne was substituted and seemed to mutter in Sarri’s direction.
“You don’t have cameras in training, we always bicker like that. I told him to sit down and not make a scene.”