Carlo Ancelotti hits out at his Napoli players following their dismal performance in the 3-1 loss to Juventus in the Serie-A.
Ancelotti jumped in to fill the shoes of Maurizio Sarri who departed to join Chelsea. Following their spirited performance last season, Napoli were expected to put up a good display but five wins in the first seven matches haven’t helped their cause as they have already lost ground in the title race.
Napoli started well against Juventus as they dominated the proceedings and took a very lead through Dries Mertens. But Cristiano Ronaldo had some other plans. The Portuguese international set up Mario Mandzukic as the Croatian international nodded the equaliser.
Four minutes after halftime Ronaldo’s goal bound shot hit the post and Mandzukic was ready to tap it on the rebound. Leonardo Bonucci then made up for his early mistakes by sealing the evening with a third goal.
Ancelotti said, “I was angry at my team because we started strong and took the lead, but then started getting sluggish and allowed Juventus to regain their confidence.
“I think the referee made a superficial decision. Mario Rui got the second yellow card after a good long wait to consider it. The two yellows came from the superficiality of the referee.
“We need to improve in terms of character, consistency and experience, but we did well even when down to 10 men.
“A defeat can happen, just as Juventus can lose in Naples. We have to keep improving under many aspects, but I am convinced we’ll be competitive right to the end.”
