Mertens hails battling performance after as Napoli win against Brescia

Dries Mertens praised his team-mates for gritting their teeth and getting the job done in the 2-1 victory over Brescia at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday afternoon.

“We could have done better, but we showed we could battle,” said the Belgian, whose goal against Brescia was his 114th in Napoli colours – putting him just one behind the great Diego Maradona. “I’m happy to have scored, but I’m also disappointed that I didn’t get a second. I could have put the game to bed.”


Mertens acknowledged that the Azzurri should have had the game sewn up earlier to prevent a tense final few minutes as Brescia pushed for an equaliser.

“We were very good in the first half, but we shouldn’t have had to dig in so much,” he said. “It’s definitely our fault that we left the game in the balance after dominating. The positive is that we did battle and we did dig in to defend the lead. We have a strong group and now we need to build on this win.”


Kostas Manolas stressed the need for Napoli to take more of their chances after the Azzurri beat Brescia 2-1 at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday.

“We deserved the win but we need to be more clinical in front of goal,” said the Greek defender. “By failing to score the third goal, we kept Brescia in the game. That was a mistake. In football sometimes games do get tricky but we did well to stand firm.”

It was Manolas’ header on the stroke of half time that proved the difference in the end, but the defender was keen to downplay the importance of his goal.

“I’m pleased with the goal, but the main thing is the three points,” he said. “We’re working hard to get to peak fitness and I have great confidence in what this group can do.”

Source [sscnapoli.it]