Napoli coach Rafa Benitez was pleased to see the Azzurri defeat Lazio but admitted his side still has room to improve.
The Partenopei defeated Edy Reja’s side 4-2 at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday afternoon thanks to a stunning goal from Dries Mertens and a hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuain.
Benitez told SportMediaset after the game that the win was vital after last week’s defeat at Parma.
“We started the game well but then we conceded a goal. Then we woke up.
“After the spectacular game with Juventus we suffered a bad defeat against Parma, so today we had to recover.”
The former Liverpool manager also took the opportunity to praise today’s star men.
“I’m very happy with the performance of Higuain and the team, I have no problem with Gonzalo, three or four players have done very well and he is one of these.
“Mertens has played a few games in a more advanced role. He can play in any position up front; he has great quality.”
Despite the win, the 53-year-old Spaniard insisted that his side could still improve and needed to be more mature in seeing games out.
“This is a team that has yet to figure out its strength and value.
“Maturity [of the team] out of ten? 7. We can improve the management of matches.
“There are players in this team that can lead through character; balance and maturity emerge with time and not in six months or a year.”
Follow George Gibson on Twitter: @George_Gibson9
