Football
ESPN staff 7y

Maurizio Sarri says Napoli 'dominated' Real Madrid for 55 minutes

Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri believes his side will soon be able to take on Europe's best teams after they "dominated" Real Madrid for 55 minutes before exiting the Champions League on Tuesday.

Trailing by two goals from the first leg in Madrid, Napoli's fine first half saw them cut the deficit to one with a goal from Dries Mertens, who could have had two but struck the post.

But while a pair of Sergio Ramos headers -- the second of which was ruled an own goal -- proved too much the Italian side to overcome, Sarri was optimistic about the future.

"We get the feeling we are not that far off [the top clubs]," Sarri told Mediaset Premium. "We dominated the best team in the world for 55 minutes. If we can grow, become more physical, then we can become competitive at this level too.

"It's a young squad, it has a bright future ahead of it. That final step is the hardest, but I get the feeling we can do it.

"Real Madrid are a very strong side; you need a lot of luck to keep the tie open and a bit of luck on the post to put us 2-0 up would have given us more fuel.

"It would have been tough anyway against the reigning champions of Europe and the world, but dominating them for 55 minutes gives us hope for the future."

Napoli captain Marek Hamsik said his teammates had nothing to be ashamed of after being knocked out of the competition before the quarterfinals.

"We leave the Champions League with heads held high," he said. "In the first half we proved that we can play it out with one of the best teams in the world.

"It's a shame that we conceded the goals on set plays. We can fight it out with the biggest clubs and that is a starting point.

"Now we must concentrate on Serie A and the Coppa Italia, which are two objectives. From tomorrow [Wednesday] we will think about Crotone.

"One thing is for sure -- we need to improve on corners."

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