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Okereke and Dessers’s new manager explains why Cremonese defeated Napoli

Cremonese upset Serie A leaders Napoli by showing them the exit door In their Coppa Italia round of 16 tie.

U.S. Cremonese’s new manager, Davide Ballardini, has revealed why his club overcame Serie A league leaders Napoli.

According to the Manager, the key reason for their triumph at the Diego Maradona stadium was the execution of certain principles during their pre-match training session.

The Italian, who replaced Massimiliano Alvini in less than 72 hours, made his Coppa Italia debut against the Serie A leaders on Tuesday.

The Parthenopeans were held to a 2-2 tie by the Tigers in the first 90 minutes, forcing a penalty shootout in which Ballardini’s men proved to be more of a nuisance, winning the shootout 4-5.

In the absence of Cyriel Dessers, David Okereke was instrumental in their triumph, providing a critical assist for his team’s first goal.

According to Tutto Napoli, the former Genoa manager, who took the bottom-of-the-league team to the quarterfinals in his debut game, talked to a Mediaset microphone.

“This is a victory that counts because we were a team until the end.” he said

However, when asked what he had done quickly to ignite the triumph in such a short time, he answered

“On the general principles: defensive phase, the space to occupy, the pressures to make. We arrived on Sunday, we had three training sessions, so we worked a lot on the principles.”

However, when his team travels to Stadio Renato Dall’Ara to play Bologna, the Ravenna native will have more challenges to overcome.

 

Ayomide Oguntimehin

Ayomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and an Editor at Soccernet.ng, with a proven track record in conducting interviews with Super Eagles stars such as William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ademola Lookman, and many others. He has also made a significant impact in breaking transfer news stories. Grounded in video editing, video journalism, social media management, and content strategy, Ayomide brings a wealth of expertise to his work. With a Bachelor's degree in English Language from Adeyemi College of Education and a Master's Degree in School Library and Media Technology from the University of Ibadan, Ayomide is well-prepared to excel in the field.

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