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NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 18: Nuno Tavares of SS Lazio competes for the ball with Matteo Politano of SSC Napol during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and SS Lazio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 18, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)
Two of Napoli’s most experienced players fronted up after a dismal afternoon at the Maradona, with Matteo Politano offering a public apology to supporters and Leonardo Spinazzola delivering a brutally honest assessment of a squad running on empty at the worst possible moment.
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The defeat to Lazio, coming after a frustrating draw at Parma, has effectively extinguished Napoli’s already slim title hopes, and both players were acutely aware of the significance of what had just unfolded.
Politano was unsparing in his verdict at the post-match press conference.
“On Sunday at Parma we stumbled and that has influenced our path, today we apologise for a horrible match in every sense,” he said, with quotes via LaLazioSiamoNoi.
He was equally firm in pushing back against any suggestion the squad had mentally switched off ahead of securing Champions League qualification. “We don’t feel we’re already in the Champions League, there are five matches left. We are not where we need to be yet.”
He also identified the root cause of the performance with painful candour.
“Lazio closed the spaces and we were not in the best condition to create, we were predictable, and without the legs you struggle against everyone. The motivations must never be missing. Today we simply were not there from the start.”
Napoli 0-2 Lazio – Spinazzola: ‘We were truly drained’
Spinazzola, speaking to DAZN, offered an equally raw assessment.
“Today we were truly drained,” he said, via LaLazioSiamoNoi.
“It is the head that moves the legs, this was not physical fatigue. I saw a team that was completely flat. We have been pushing and chasing all year and there was a small flame still burning. On Sunday against Parma it went out. When you are a squad like ours, you cannot have matches like today.”
The former Roma wing-back was also candid about the psychological blow of the Parma draw coinciding with Inter’s victory.
“We believed a misstep from them could reopen everything,” he said.
“With the Parma draw and Inter’s win, the flame went out completely. It was a difficult dream to cling to but mentally each of us kept hoping. From Monday we must think only about winning next Sunday and securing our Champions League place.”
