"We have to go out there fully focused"

Napoli attacker Politano explained on Monday, ahead of the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona, that the Blaugrana "suffer in defence this season" and that they have "studied how to create difficulties for them". 

"Our strength is ball possession and we have to use it. We know that Barca are struggling in defence this season. We have studied how to create difficulties for them and tomorrow we have to be as focused as possible", he analysed.

The Italian international highlighted Napoli's improvement since the arrival of coach Francesco Calzona: "We've gone back to doing what we know how to do, dominating possession and pinning our opponents back in the box. If we wait for our opponents, we get into difficulties because we have players who like to attack.

"Napoli will have to play like Napoli: have the ball and defend going forward. We know Barca's attacking strength and we can suffer from their depth of play. We want to make the most of the chances we have," he added.

Politano admitted that the 'Azzurri' team practised in the last training session for a hypothetical penalty shootout, although he hopes to "win the match beforehand", and assured that "these matches prepare themselves, because there is no need to motivate anyone". 

"Barca are still a top team with very good players. We saw it in the first leg, in the first half they put us in trouble. Tomorrow will be a very difficult game, they are playing at home and will try to impose their game. We'll have to know how to stay the course, because their strength is ball possession," he reflected.