Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly has said that it will be difficult for his team to qualify from their Champions League group. Napoli are in the Group of Death in the Champions League with Liverpool, PSG and Red Star Belgrade. Napoli’s Champions League opener is an easy one against Red Star Belgrade at Belgrade tonight.
Last season, Napoli couldn’t qualify from their group which was a relatively easy one. Napoli’s group had Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord. The Serie A team lost all of their away matches that time.
Koulibaly said, “We are really fired up, because this season we want to have a great Champions League campaign, starting from the top. We did poorly away from home last year, losing all three matches. We’ll do everything to qualify from the group and make a good start in our first match.
We know we’re up against a tough team in a fiery stadium but we also know there’s a chance of getting a result here. We’re in a very tough group. There’s not only PSG and Liverpool but also Red Star, whom I think are a tricky opponent. However, we want to have our say. The first objective is to get qualified for the after-group round. It won’t be easy, but we can do it.
We’re confident in our ability, and the work we’re doing with Ancelotti. We’re on the right track, but there’s still a lot to improve on. Starting from now, we need to be on top of our game in a massively important competition. We’re ready for anything in order to get the win. This team really wants to bounce back after last year so we’re motivated to give our all for our colours”.
Napoli have started this season well under Carlo Ancelotti. They won their first Serie A matches against Lazio and AC Milan. They lost their next match to Sampdoria but rebounded by defeating Fiorentina on Saturday. Napoli are currently third in the Serie A table below Juventus and SPAL.
Napoli have a pretty strong squad this season and they will certainly give the likes of Liverpool and PSG a run for their money.
