Carlo Ancelotti adamant that Napoli will not melt under the Anfield lights: ‘We haven’t come here to sit back’
- Napoli face Liverpool and Reds must beat them to progress to knockout stages
- Carlo Ancelotti’s side won home game and have been playing well recently
- Liverpool have a history littered with huge wins in front of the Anfield crowd
- Ancelotti insists his players will be relishing the occasion rather than fearing it
Carlo Ancelotti insists his Napoli team will not melt under the lights at Anfield and has warned Liverpool to prepare for all-out attack.
There is an expectation that Liverpool’s final game decider will follow the way many similar matches have gone before, with the hosts extracting themselves from a difficult situation and the visitors crumbling in the cacophony.
Napoli, though, are not a team of novices and Ancelotti, their wily old coach, has been in the game long enough not to be flustered by noise.
Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti is preparing his side to take on Liverpool on Tuesday
The Italian side trained at Anfield ahead of their huge Champions League showdown
He is respectful of the threat Liverpool pose but the former Chelsea manager believes the atmosphere will lift his players.
‘Anfield is a beautiful stadium,’ said Ancelotti, whose side are unbeaten in five Group C games. The best stadium in the world for atmosphere. The people are really passionate. For players it’s really nice to be here and play this kind of game. To play here it’s really exciting.
‘I don’t know what will happen but I hope they won’t be affected. My players are positive.
‘Everyone wants to play at one of the best stadiums in the world in terms of atmosphere. There are lots of Liverpool fans but there will also be 3,000 Napoli fans here and many more watching.’
Marek Hamsik could be a key player for the visitors and the Reds need to win to go through
Napoli are the only team in Italy who have threatened to check Juventus’ dominance and they have done so by playing an aggressive style.
They warmed up for this clash by scoring four times against Frosione on Saturday and Ancelotti will urge to go for goals again.
‘I don’t know what Liverpool are planning on doing,’ said Ancelotti. ‘We all know how they play at home with the intensity.
‘We will try to maintain a high level of intensity. We haven’t come here to sit back but to play our own game.
‘There are two important phases in football – attack and defence and we need to get both of them right.
The veteran boss thinks his team will relish playing on such a pressurised stage