Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti has said his side would “really be idiots” if they fail to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.
After drawing home and away with Paris Saint-Germain, the Azzurri host Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday night knowing victory would take them through to the round of 16 providing PSG fail to beat Liverpool in the group’s other match.
Any other combination of results would see their fate decided in their final group match at Anfield in two weeks’ time.
“We are well placed in what was an almost impossible group and now we can put the cherry on top,” Ancelotti said. “Our objective is to go through and we either do that now or in our last game, it doesn’t change much.
“I think it’s going to come down to the last game and I’d go as far as to say that, in the position we’re in, if we don’t go through, we’d really be idiots.”
Ancelotti said that Red Star, who held his side to a goalless draw in Belgrade and also beat Liverpool 2-0, have been taken too lightly by their group rivals.
“They may have lost their two away games, but they deserved to beat Liverpool at home,” he said. “I expect them to be organised, particularly defensively, and they will try to hit us on the break.
“They’ve been a bit under-estimated so far.”