Bayern relieved, Napoli 'deserved more'
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
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Both FC Bayern München coach Jupp Heynckes and his SSC Napoli counterpart Walter Mazzarri had mixed emotions after an action-packed 3-2 home victory for the German club.
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Jupp Heynckes, Bayern coach
There is no way we were careless after we were 3-0 up. I told the team before the game that it would be very difficult today. Napoli never give up, have super morale and are top when it comes to fighting and running. At this level you get nothing for free and until today they had not lost a match [in the UEFA Champions League]. We have to be pleased that we won.
I rated Mario Gomez's goals and his contribution to his team's defence; he's shown great commitment. We know he is capable of scoring but it was positive to see him fight for his team.
[Bastian Schweinsteiger's] injury hit us hard – you could see by the players' reactions that they were affected. Our game was disrupted after he'd been substituted. I said before the match that he's not only a very important player but he dictates the flow of our game in midfield. He's in outstanding form. So far we've been able to compensate for injured players; I hope this will continue in the coming weeks.
Walter Mazzarri, Napoli coach
I don't think my team deserved to lose – especially for what we did in the second half. We played well against one of the strongest teams in Europe and we're really disappointed to lose. My players were great in the second half, and did all they could to try to level even if it seemed impossible.
We didn't start well – we made some mistakes and they took advantage of them. They're really good and have more experience than us. Then we all talked together during the break and things changed in the second half.
We got a draw two weeks ago [against Bayern] but I think we played better tonight than we did at home. We deserved more, yet it was still a great night for us because of what we did.