Di Lorenzo: ‘Penalties are a lottery, Napoli want to beat Milan in normal time’

Giovanni Di Lorenzo has made it clear that Napoli are in it to win it at the Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia, and has implored his teammates to get the job done in 90 minutes when they come up against Milan in the semi-final on Thursday: ‘Penalties are a lottery’. 

The Supercoppa Italiana gets underway in Riyadh with the Napoli vs. Milan semi-final on Thursday evening. Bologna and Inter will face off in the other semi-final on Friday night and the winners of those two ties will meet in the final on Monday. 

Captain Di Lorenzo, speaking alongside Antonio Conte during Wednesday’s pre-match press conference, said that Napoli are in a strong position despite their recent 1-0 loss against Udinese and their 2-0 defeat by Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the Champions League. 

“We’re coming in at a good time even though we lost our last game. But this is another competition, we will play openly. The team is doing fine,” he said. 

When asked about Napoli’s goals for the Supercoppa Italiana, Di Lorenzo said that it is a case of one game at a time, but made it clear that he doesn’t want to face the gamble of a penalty shootout. 

“Penalties are a lottery, so we want to qualify for the final in normal time. That’s the goal. Milan are a strong team with great players, so we have to focus on doing our best.” 

What has Di Lorenzo made of his recent role as a right wing-back and does he have any preference as to where he plays, whether that’s in a back three or a back four? 

“We’re all professionals and we are used to playing all the time. As for me, I always train to the maximum and give my best,” he said. “It can be tiring mentally, but you need to burn a lot of energy to play in these sorts of games.

“I play wherever the coach tells me, I’m always available for the team, my position comes second.” 

Napoli, like Milan, have taken a number of youth team representatives with them to Saudi Arabia. What does Di Lorenzo have to say about them?

“They’re young guys who often train with us and bring a breath of fresh air to the first team. We try to make them feel at ease and help them express themselves at their best.” 

And on the defensive aspect of Napoli’s game, Di Lorenzo added: “Tomorrow’s match depends on how we defend, so it will be very important. You attack better when  you defend well. We work a lot on this. We will try to play a good defensive game and show our qualities in possession.”