Di Lorenzo: ‘Napoli failing to concentrate and take advantage of opportunities’

Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was left bitterly disappointed after Saturday afternoon’s 1-1 draw at home to Genoa in Serie A, suggesting that the Partenopei are struggling to concentrate and take advantage of the opportunities they create in crucial moments.

January signing Cyril Ngonge rescued a point in the 90th minute for Walter Mazzarri’s side, who had fallen behind after a 47th minute opener from Genoa’s Morten Frendrup.

Napoli have now won just once from their last four Serie A matches after returning from the Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia towards the end of January.

They remain rooted to ninth position in Serie A and are now six points off Atalanta in the Champions League positions, having played one game more than Gian Piero Gasperini’s team.

“There was a bit of continuity missing in the game. We played well in spells, but failed to concentrate and take advantage of the opportunities we created in other moments,” Di Lorenzo told DAZN, via TMW, following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Genoa.

“It shouldn’t be that way. We shouldn’t have to wait for a difficult moment to start reacting. Today, we started quite well, we came out with quality. After the goal, we tried to get one back, but Genoa defended well.

“Fortunately, we managed to grab a draw, which doesn’t make us entirely happy because we still want to chase the Champions League dream.”

Di Lorenzo also fielded questions about whether the team are feeling any pressure from the club’s disappointed supporters.

He suggested that players ought to concentrate on their task on the pitch, but admitted that the squad now have to repay the Partenopei supporters for their continued faith.

“We shouldn’t think about what happens away from the pitch, in the stadium, but instead we should be concentrating on playing to the best of our ability. At home, we’re not capitalising on the chances we produce, we’re missing something.

“That’s not due to the pressure of the supporters, who always push us on from the stands. Now, we have to do something special to repay them.”