Carlo Ancelotti Reveals Key Differences Between Fabian Ruiz and Marek Hamsik After Easy Napoli Win

Carlo Ancelotti said he believes Fabian Ruiz has a number of different attributes compared to the outgoing Marek Hamsik following Napoli's 3-1 Europa League win against Zurich on Thursday.

Hamsik has agreed to join Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang and leaves as the club's record appearance maker and goalscorer, and Ruiz is one player tipped to fill the Slovakia international's boots.

Speaking as quoted by Napoli's website, Ancelotti praised the 22-year-old and described his differences to Partenopei legend Hamsik.

He said: "Fabian can do various roles and must certainly grow in many ways, he is young and very talented, he has to have fewer breaks and is gradually added to the team, compared to Marek he has a different game vision but certainly more penetration."

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Hamsik ends his 11-year Napoli spell with 121 goals in 520 appearances for Gli Azzurri, having won the Coppa Italia twice and the Supercoppa Italiana once.

Ruiz played the full 90 minutes on Thursday but has had to be patient throughout the season, featuring in 16 of a possible 23 Serie A games, playing in central midfield but also out wide.

Napoli eased to victory thanks to strikes from Lorenzo Insigne, Jose Callejon and Piotr Zielinski and Ancelotti was pleased with his side's quick start in what was his Europa League debut.

He added: "We had the strength to immediately unlock the game, and that was the difference compared to some previous away matches.

"The finalisation went much better, we need to continue in this way and further improve in the conclusion phase.

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"It was my absolute debut in the Europa League and I have to say it was a good feeling, the only drawbacks of this competition: for me they are not manageable and I think that UEFA needs to do something to change them."