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<\/picture><\/div>\nNAPLES, 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)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Two of Napoli\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News & Content \u2013 Free Trial \u2013 Click Here<\/span><\/p>\n The defeat to Lazio, coming after a frustrating draw at Parma, has effectively extinguished Napoli\u2019s already slim title hopes, and both players were acutely aware of the significance of what had just unfolded.<\/p>\n Politano was unsparing in his verdict at the post-match press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Sunday at Parma we stumbled and that has influenced our path, today we apologise for a horrible match in every sense,\u201d he said, with quotes via LaLazioSiamoNoi.<\/p>\n He was equally firm in pushing back against any suggestion the squad had mentally switched off ahead of securing Champions League qualification. \u201cWe don\u2019t feel we\u2019re already in the Champions League, there are five matches left. We are not where we need to be yet.\u201d<\/p>\n He also identified the root cause of the performance with painful candour.<\/p>\n \u201cLazio 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Spinazzola, speaking to DAZN, offered an equally raw assessment.<\/p>\n \u201cToday we were truly drained,\u201d he said, via LaLazioSiamoNoi.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The former Roma wing-back was also candid about the psychological blow of the Parma draw coinciding with Inter\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believed a misstep from them could reopen everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Parma draw and Inter\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Napoli 0-2 Lazio \u2013 Spinazzola: \u2018We were truly drained\u2019<\/h2>\n