Napoli vs Paris Saint Germain - Ancelotti: Napoli have to be ‘perfect’ to get the better of PSG

Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti believes his players will have to be “perfect” to get the better of his old club Paris St Germain on Tuesday.

The two sides meet at the Stadio San Paolo in Champions League Group C, just under a fortnight on from drawing 2-2 at the Parc des Princes, where the visitors led twice before Angel Di Maria netted a stoppage-time equaliser.

After three rounds of games Napoli are second in the group with five points, one behind leaders Liverpool, while PSG are third with four points.

Ancelotti was asked at his pre-match press conference if the aim was to replicate the performance from the first encounter. And the 59-year-old Italian, quoted on Napoli’s official website, said: “We need to do better than that.

“We didn’t take full advantage of our performance in Paris because we could have won and we didn’t.

“Results never happen by chance. I think we were perhaps a little indulgent and that cannot happen tomorrow.

“In order to get the better of these teams, we have to be perfect and produce a superlative performance.”

Napoli, third in Serie A, face a PSG outfit who are 11 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, having won 12 out of 12 games.

“We have a lot of respect for PSG – they’re a great side and we know that,” added Ancelotti, who was in charge of the French giants from 2011 to 2013.

“We take confidence and conviction from the fact that we produced a good performance in Paris.

“Their objective is to win the Champions League. They’re one of the best teams in Europe and they’re working on a project that began with me years ago. I think they’re even more competitive now.

“The fact that things are balanced is in our favour because we were the third wheel when the draw was made and yet we’re here competing with Liverpool and PSG after three games. That shows that we’re doing the right things.

“Tomorrow we will need to produce a wonderful performance because when you take on teams like PSG, you need to find the next level.”

PSG coach Thomas Tuchel kept his cards close to his chest ahead of the game.

Edinson Cavani has struggled with a hamstring injury and is rated as doubtful to start against his former club.

“I can’t say, it’s Monday afternoon so I can’t say who will play,” Tuchel said in his pre-match press conference.

“Cavani is with us and he’s trained, we’ll see later.

“You always say that we’re favourites, that Napoli are small or outsiders. We know it’s a huge challenge though, the 2-2 in the first game was well deserved. We could have done better but for 30 minutes we were not at our level.

“Napoli are a strong team, they’ve been playing together for a long time. They have understanding, quality and defensive discipline.

“It’ll be a big challenge but we want to win, this is the second half after the 2-2 in the first. We’re coming off two beautiful games against Marseille and Lille.”