体坛英语新闻：Napoli deserve win over Inter, says Mazzarri

ROME, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Napoli head coach Walter Mazzarri cliamed his side deserved the win after they beat Inter 3-0 on Saturday.

"I thank my players for having given me the greatest birthday gift I could have asked for," said Mazzarri who turned 50 that day.

"Incidents do happen in football and I said the same last season when we conceded a penalty and then lost against Milan.

"I think we played well and in terms of overall performance we deserved the win tonight. We were denied a clear penalty against Fiorentina last week, so mistakes happen to everyone over the course of a campaign."

Napoli players celebrate their goal during a Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Napoli at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Oct.1, 2011.  Napoli beat Inter 3-0.

Napoli can now be considered genuine Scudetto contenders, having beaten both Milan and Inter, not to mention ending a run of seven consecutive San Siro defeats.

"The team has grown a lot this season and has more character. Playing in the Europa League helped us a lot, while now we are learning even more from facing Barcelona, Manchester City and other top clubs.

"The squad has had a rapid climb and there are youngsters who have reached maturity like Pocho Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik, while it's a pleasure to watch others such as Paolo Cannavaro and Salvatore Aronica.

"The Scudetto? We'll take it one game at a time," he said.