Carlo Ancelotti Claims Napoli Played the 'Same Way' Against Parma But Had a Decisive Final Touch

Carlo Ancelotti claims that the only difference between his side's form that saw them demolish Parma 4-0 and their previous performances was that the attack finally rose to the occasion.

The Italian manager saw his team string attack after attack together, ultimately proving too much for a Parma side lacking any attacking edge. Goals from Piotr Zielinski, Arkadiusz Milik and Adam Ounas left Ancelotti with plenty of optimism over his attacking line, especially seeing as their next game is against league leaders Juventus. 

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Speaking post-match, as quoted by Football Italia, Ancelotti expressed his delight at Napoli's attacking display, saying: "It was a similar performance to the ones against Torino and Fiorentina. The only difference was this time we did better in taking the chances that we created.

"Now we know that we can play like this, it’s about doing it consistently. Nothing is to be taken for granted and we’ve got to stay as close to the top of the table as possible."

On the changes he made to the side since their recent run of back-to-back 0-0 draws in Serie A, he added, as quoted by the team's official website: "We got back to being decisive in front of goal. We made no mistakes this evening. Finally I saw top accuracy and determination with the final ball.

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"This team is doing well and can develop even further. We’re more focused on the little details and you could see the results of that today."

The star of the match was undoubtedly Milik who scored a brace including a cheeky free-kick that crept under the wall, and Ancelotti revealed that it was he who suggested the idea to the Polish striker.

“Yes, I told him to strike beneath the wall because the free kick was quite close to the goal, so my idea was the preferable solution," he said. "He did brilliantly to find the net with an unstoppable shot.

“Cristiano Ronaldo told me this technique when I was at Real Madrid; there’s more of him in it than me.”

On the upcoming match against league leaders Juventus he added: “For us it’s a source of motivation but also an honour to play them from second in the league. Over the last seven years, they’re the team that have won the most. They’ve got a great advantage, but we’ll focus on putting in a quality performance, just like tonight’s.”