Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis hailed his "heroic" players, despite their 1-0 defeat at AC Milan last night.

"I can say I am more than happy with this third place and the fact if it weren't for an own goal then the star-studded Milan would not have won," he said.

"I prefer to be in my situation than many other clubs. I saw Milan were tense and aggressive, so I was pleased to see us play in a very entertaining and attacking fashion.

"My one problem was with the opening 20 minutes, when we could have been more clinical upfront, but other than that it was a fine performance."

The movie mogul added: "What were Napoli tonight in film terms? This was a heroic movie!

"When a penalty is saved, that is wiped off the slate. If I started talking about referees preferring the big clubs, much like any President, I'd never stop!

"A referee can make mistakes and it is a very tough job, so we are not ones to complain."