Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti was proud of his players for their 1-1 draw at Champions League opponents Liverpool.

Only a late Dejan Lovren goal denied Dries Mertens from being the matchwinner on the night.

Ancelotti remarked: "The president called, he was happy, Allan repeated the same performance against Milan, maybe he was the best on the field. He returned to his levels, proving to be an indispensable player for us."

On the crisis involving president Aurelio de Laurentiis'stand-off with the squad, Ancelotti was hopeful.

"We will evaluate. The president wants to talk to the team and I think it's a positive sign."

He added: "I was convinced that we would play a good game. Liverpool suffers against us, I was sure we would have had a great game.

"Maybe it didn't come out an excellent game on an aesthetic level, but on level of solidity. Our goal was not to play a good game here, but to pass the round."