Sarri upbeat over Napoli performances

Maurizio Sarri is focusing on performances rather than results after seeing his Napoli side claim a 1-1 Champions League draw at Besiktas on Tuesday.

Napoli spurned several chances in Istanbul before falling behind in the 78th minute to a contentious Ricardo Quaresma penalty after Nikola Maksimovic was adjudged to have handled in the area.

But four minutes later Marek Hamsik rescued a point with a stunning long-range effort, keeping Napoli at the summit of Group B.

Despite Napoli’s failure to avenge a 3-2 home defeat to Besiktas in the reverse fixture or bounce back from the Serie A loss to Juventus at the weekend, Sarri remains upbeat.

“We need to concentrate on the performances more than the results right now, as after a difficult period we played two good games against Juventus and Besiktas,” he told Mediaset Premium.

“It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, because we were in control, but unfortunately at the moment we are not turning our many chances into goals.

“After the equaliser we had great chances to win it with Dries [Mertens] and Lorenzo Insigne, but the media see those as mere details. As a coach I say we had a satisfying performance.

“If we rediscover our solidity in defence, then the attacking moves will benefit as a result.”

Napoli remain without Arkadiusz Milik, who had scored seven goals in nine games to start the season, as he recovers from a knee ligament injury.

“The lad is ferociously determined and I think his recovery time will be quicker than predicted, but it certainly cannot be less than two months,” Sarri said of Milik.

“If I sit here crying over injuries then I’d be giving my team 2,000 alibis, but these things can happen in football. We must all have faith.”