Callejon credits 'Maradona effect' as Napoli down Milan

The forward suggested that a meeting with the Argentina legend helped the Partenopei secure victory in the key Serie A encounter on Saturday

Jose Callejon credited Diego Maradona for inspiring Napoli to a valuable 2-1 Serie A victory over Milan at San Siro.

The Partenopei and Argentina great visited the club's training base in Castel Volturno this week to meet the players and head coach Maurizio Sarri ahead of a run of key matches, with a Coppa Italia quarter-final against Fiorentina and a Champions League last-16 meeting with Real Madrid to come in the next month.

Maradona's influence certainly seemed to have helped as Lorenzo Insigne and Callejon struck inside the opening nine minutes of Saturday's game, with Napoli ultimately holding out for all three points despite Juraj Kucka halving the deficit.

And the 29-year-old paid tribute to the former star's impact following what he believed was a performance that proved Napoli's potential to challenge for the Scudetto.

"We deserved it. It's always difficult to play at San Siro but we showed we are a great team," he told Mediaset Premium. "Yes, there was a little of the 'Maradona effect'!

"Milan are a great side, we were superb for the first 30 minutes but then they came back at us. 

"We always want to improve, and coming here to win is proof of that.

"We are trying to stay there [at the top] and to keep playing for it. We're working well, with the right mentality. We want to keep going."

Milan CEO Adriano Galliani felt the match was a superb advert for Serie A, despite admitting that he had feared the very worst when Napoli raced into a 2-0 lead.

"I am sad at the defeat, but it was a wonderful match," he told Milan TV. "The fans had fun; there weren't many jeers at the final whistle because they saw we gave our all against a great opponent.

"We had chances but you have to accept the defeat if you don't take them. I went into the Napoli dressing room to compliment Maurizio Sarri, because he makes his team play really good football, just as Vincenzo Montella does.

"We were fighting back again and I think the gap from us to the top teams has really whittled down now. If you'd have interviewed me after 10 minutes, I'd have thought it a nuclear disaster... You never know what will happen."

Zidane urges Madrid fans to stick with Ronaldo and Benzema

The duo were out of sorts in the win over Malaga but the Frenchman says he has no worries over their current lack of goals

Zinedine Zidane has encouraged Real Madrid fans to have patience and support Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema after their indifferent showings in a 2-1 La Liga win over Malaga.

After delivering an uncharacteristically poor performance against Celta Vigo in midweek, Ronaldo missed a number of chances on Saturday as Benzema was also jeered by his own supporters.

While recognising his forwards' disappointing form, Zidane urged the Madrid fans to stand by the duo, while insisting the club's injury crisis is of greater concern at this stage.

"We are finding it hard to score and opponents are doing us damage," the Madrid coach said. "We need to be relaxed and rest, we are generally happy with the scoreline.

"We must also have patience with the forwards. Karim and Cristiano have scored goals, maybe not in the last games, but I am not concerned.

"We had chances to score more, but we got two and it is a fair result. We must continue working as we have been. [It] is a good result in general.

"When you have difficulties, you need [the supporters] to be calm and support the team. I can only ask for everyone to remain calm.

"The fans will always demand more. We know that, but sometimes the players and the coaches need more affection from their fans. Our fans are very demanding.

"I understand the sentiments of the people. It is an audience that always want more from their team, but, sometimes, over the season, with many games, many injuries, the players need some affection, and the coach too.

"It is not the form of the attackers which worries me at the moment, it is more the injuries."

With Luka Modric and Marcelo the club's latest injury victims, Madrid ended the game with Lucas Vasquez at right-back - a source of frustration for Zidane.

"Lucas did perfect, but I do not like playing him there," he added. "He is not a full-back. As always, he did phenomenal - even out of position."