Napoli will need to maintain their one hundred per cent home record in European competition this season in they are progress to the Europa League quarter-finals at the expense of Porto.
The Portuguese side head into Thursday’s return leg at the Stadio San Paolo with a deserved 1-0 advantage after former Partenopei transfer target Jackson Martinez beat an inspired Pepe Reina ten minutes into the second-half.
However the defeat was of secondary importance following the news that Christian Maggio needed emergency surgery for a collapsed lung.
Maggio had missed the first leg after suffering a knock to the chest in the team’s final pre-match training session. However on his return to Naples with the rest of the squad, the Italian international discovered that the knock was actually far more serious than initially thought and he was hospitalised requiring surgery on a pneumothorax.
The full-back is now thankfully recovering from surgery and initial reports indicate that he may be able to make a welcome return to first-team action by the end of April.
Meanwhile, Marek Hamsik’s poor form is starting to cause concern for both the club and the player after the captain confessed that he has been frustrated with his performances since returning from a foot injury in January.
“I am struggling and it shows,” Hamsik told Sky Sport Italia after the loss to Porto.
“I have to get out of this by myself. I am not the man I once was and certain moves just don’t work anymore. It is not a physical problem per se, I just need to find myself again.”
This honesty has been well received by both fans and the media alike as Salvatore Caiazza, a journalist for Il Roma newspaper, brilliantly summarised the support for the 26-year-old talisman when speaking on Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli.
“You have to congratulate Hamsik because after the match against Porto he took the responsibility to say that it is not at the top and that this is a season where he is not giving his best.
“If he had been presumptuous he would never admit it, fortunately the guy has character and it is good that Rafa Benitez defends him as it is good for the Neapolitan public to applaud him.
“This is a season that over the course of the career of a footballer happens, beyond the initial sprint there has not been anything go right for him.”
The Corriere dello Sport had suggested that Hamsik would be dropped from the starting eleven in favour of Blerim Dzemaili for Monday’s Serie A match at Torino, but Benitez continued to show his support for the Slovakian international and was ultimately rewarded as he provided his fourth Serie A assist of the season in a 1-0 win.
The three points against Torino had strong parallels with Napoli’s recent successes against Swansea City and Roma with the opposition enjoying significant spells of pressure but also missing a number of opportunities during the games.
The Granata even managed to hit the woodwork twice, but while the Partenopei have perhaps been on the back foot for spells in recent matches they are showing an ability to grow into games in the closing stages and crucially demonstrate that they can also be clinical in front of goal.
With Gonzalo Higuain and Gökhan Inler scoring late to secure a 3-1 win against Swansea in the Europa League and Jose Callejon heading a late winner nine minutes from time against Roma, a last-minute Higuain goal gave Napoli a vital away win on this occasion.
Torino were upset after El Pipita allegedly tripped Kamil Glik when competing for Hamsik’s long ball in the build-up to his goal. But the match officials considered the contact accidental and Higuain emphatically finished when clear through on goal.
The Azzurri will now be looking for a third consecutive Serie A win when fourth placed Fiorentina visit the San Paolo on Sunday evening. With Napoli currently ten points ahead of their Coppa Italia final opponents another three points could go a long way to securing Champions League qualification for next season.
