Benitez rues slow start against Arsenal

Goals from Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud saw the Gunners sweep aside their Serie A opponents inside the first 15 minutes to take control of Group F.

Rafa Benitez bemoaned Napoli's poor start in their 2-0 Champions League defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday night.

The Serie A outfit were two goals down after just 15 minutes of the Group F encounter at the Emirates Stadium, as the Spaniard was consigned to a first professional loss as Partenopei coach.

 

Arsenal's record signing Mesut Ozil scored the first with a sublime side-footed effort after eight minutes, before then providing for Olivier Giroud to tap home the second.

And Benitez was disappointed with his team for losing focus, despite warning his squad of Arsenal's threat before the game.

"We started very badly," the former Liverpool boss told reporters after the game. "When you are 2-0 down early in the game against opponents like Arsenal everything becomes very difficult.

"We played a bit better in the second half but it was difficult to come back. We knew it was a tough game against Arsenal but we still think we can say a word in this group.

"I had told the players to be focused from the start because I was expecting Arsenal to start at full pace – but we still conceded twice.

"We made a few mistakes tonight, I'm not sure if we lacked experience but when you make mistakes at this level you certainly pay for them."

Napoli were without Arsenal's transfer-window target Gonzalo Higuain, as the striker was ruled out with a calf injury.

And Benitez conceded that his absence may have played a part in the loss, adding: "Higuain is a very important player for us, we tried a couple of different solutions to cope without him but didn't manage to score."

Defour: Porto can still top group despite Atletico defeat

The Belgium international was disappointed with his side's showing against the Rojiblancos but believes they still have a great chance of progressing to the knockout stages.

FC Porto midfielder Steven Defour believes that Champions League Group G is still "wide open", despite his side's 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid.

Porto took a 16th-minute lead through Jackson Martinez, but the Portuguese champions were unable to build on that advantage as strikes from Diego Godin and Arda Turan saw the visitors emerge victorious.

However, Defour believes that Zenit St Petersburg's inability to beat Austria Vienna in the group's other game on matchday two handed his side an early reprieve.

"I think it was a tight game, with Atletico sitting very deep, not allowing us to find space and create opportunities. We were prepared for that kind of strategy,” the 25-year-old told reporters after the game.

"Our first half hour was good and we applied lots of pressure. After the equaliser, our level dropped and ended up conceding another goal.

"However, Zenit's result turns out to be good for us, so we must take full advantage in the next two games against the Russian team. All in all, the group is wide open."

Defour's midfield team-mate Josue bemoaned Porto's defending from set-pieces, as they allowed Atletico to score twice from set-pieces.

"We suffered two goals in dead-ball situations,” he said. “The second one cannot happen. Now we have to work in order to make amends in our next game."

 Culled from Goal