Coaches content after City and Napoli draw
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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Manchester City FC manager Roberto Mancini said "the first game is always difficult" after his side came from behind to earn a share of the spoils against group stage debutants SSC Napoli.
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Roberto Mancini, Manchester City manager
It was good as the first game is always difficult. It was difficult to play against Napoli because they defend very well and when they went on the attack they were dangerous. We played well but then we conceded a goal. For ten minutes we played OK but after that we did well and scored − I'm happy.
We played our first game in the Champions League, maybe some players wanted to win the game alone because we took one touch too many in the first half. We wanted to win but the Champions League is hard and for us it was important to play well.
Walter Mazzarri, Napoli coach
We didn't start well and had some problems in the first half when we were lucky not to concede. Then, in the second half, we broke the ice and started to play better. At certain points we probably tried to do the impossible, such as trying to score from 40 meters − that's too much.
We scored, but in such a stadium, with such an atmosphere, if you don't score the second goal then it's quite normal for the hosts to hit back and that's what happened. In any case, my players are working hard, we are always trying to play our football, even if we weren't able to do so in the first half.