Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking lamented his side’s defeat after Napoli conquered the home side 4-1 in the quater-final first leg of the Europa League on Thursday night.
A double from Marek Hamsik and additional goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Manolo Gabbiadini were enough to blast past the side which sit second in the Bundesliga, and despite a late consolation goal from Danish substitute Nicklas Bendtner, the tie already looks to be firmly in Napoli’s grasp with Hecking already admitting his doubts of a turn-around.
“I have to congratulate Napoli who played a very good game, even if we did help them a little too much,” he said.
“This is a game that will serve as a lesson ahead of our Champion’s league campaign next year. We have to recognise the superiority of our opponent.
“After the game against Inter we discovered that Napoli are on a whole new level.”
Hecking conceded that mistakes led to the heavy defeat, and though the likelihood of a comeback is minimal, the 50-year-old still believes Die Wolfe need to perform at the Stadio San Paolo.
“It’s a shame that the first goal was irregular, but it is no excuse for our defeat,” he continued.
“We started well but then we began to commit too many mistakes, and now we have made it hard for ourselves.
“A comeback would be a miracle, yet we must ensure we play well in order to succeed.”
