Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who is on loan until the end of the season from Liverpool, has stated that his team will not be playing for a draw against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League group match.
Napoli go into the match still with a chance to progress to the knockout stages, but a defeat to the German club will put them in a disadvantageous position. They could potentially fall to third place after the end of this round of group matches. Hence, there has been a suggestion that Rafa Benitez may adopt defensive tactics for the match.
Getting a draw away from home in the Champions league is not necessarily a bad thing, but Reina feels that the Italian club will not go with such tactics. The Liverpool goalkeeper was recently united with Benitez after sealing a season-long loan move from Liverpool.
Even though he is not expected to stay beyond this season, Reina is already becoming a cult figure at Napoli after having become the first player to save a penalty from Mario Balotelli. It might be <worth having a bet on him staying on at Napoli next season. Dortmund are extremely strong at home, but they come into the match with a number of injuries.
"We know a draw would see us through, but we should not play for one. That could be very dangerous. We have to try to play our own game and not focus too much on what Dortmund are going to do. We go into tomorrow's game with even more determination to win after the two recent defeats. While you are maybe allowed to lose at Juventus, the home defeat against Parma was more of a shock to us," said Reina.
Napoli themselves do not come into the encounter in a good form after having lost the last two matches, but Reina is confident of getting a victory.