The coach hailed his players after they battled to a
1-1 draw against Stefano Pioli's men in rainy weather, while using the
result as vindication for his rotation policy
Miroslav Klose put Stefano Pioli's hosts ahead 33 minutes in but Manolo Gabbiadini bagged a crucial away goal during the second half of a first-leg clash played out in torrential rain at the Stadio Olimpico.
Benitez was delighted with Napoli's performance in light of the conditions and believes his decision to rotate players between Serie A, the Europa League and Coppa Italia games is being vindicated.
"We saw a game with pace and intensity - the rain made it feel like the Premier League!" the Partenopei coach told Rai Sport. "The players were perfect considering we have so many matches at the moment.
"I've said many times that we rotate the squad to maintain sharpness, which was important tonight against an intense side like Lazio and especially on a quick pitch.
"We are looking for the right balance and everybody must be try to help out in defence. Competition between players allows us to get to these games with the right level of intensity and pushes everyone to do better."
Napoli and Lazio must wait over a month - April 8 - from the return leg at the Stadio San Paolo, with Benitez's men busy in the meantime, with Serie A clashes against Inter, Verona, Atalanta and Roma.
The Partenopei also have a Europa League last-16 tie with Dinamo Moscow to look forward to this month.
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