Napoli 2-3 Chelsea – Di Lorenzo claims: ‘We weren’t eliminated tonight’, backs ‘talented’ Vergara

Giovanni Di Lorenzo believes Napoli’s Champions League exit cannot be pinned solely on their 3-2 defeat to Chelsea, insisting the damage had been done earlier in the campaign.

The captain cut a frustrated but composed figure after the final whistle, praising both the fans and his team’s effort on the night.

“The fans are always with us, we knew that and we know it,” he said, with quotes via IlNapolista.

“It hurts, but we weren’t eliminated tonight. We made mistakes in too many other games, we dropped too many points and we paid for that. Tonight we played a great match, it’s just a shame about the result.”

Napoli went a goal down early on thanks to an Enzo Fernandez penalty after a Juan Jesus handball. Antonio Conte’s side fought their way back into the game thanks to goals from Antonio Vergara and Rasmus Hojlund.

However, an impressive second-half comeback from the Blues gave them all three points and sent Napoli out of the Champions League.

Napoli’s season has been heavily disrupted by injuries, and Di Lorenzo admitted the squad is feeling the physical toll.

“We’ve had these injuries for a while, we’re living with them. The group is giving everything it has,” he explained.

“The same players are out there every three days. It’s not an excuse, it’s just how it is. We hope the others come back as soon as possible.”

With Fiorentina up next at the weekend, recovery is now the priority. “We have to focus on rest, nutrition and treatment. We play again on Saturday and need to be ready.”

Di Lorenzo also singled out youngster Antonio Vergara for encouragement after the forward scored his first goal for his boyhood club.

The Italian did exceptionally well to beat Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana in the box and slotted the ball sweetly into the far corner.

“Vergara is a talented lad. He can handle himself physically too,” Di Lorenzo said.

“He has these chances because of the injuries and he must make the most of them. He just needs to keep working, block out the noise and keep going.”