<
>

Rafa Benitez: Napoli must be wary of Dnipro threat in Europa League

Napoli coach Rafael Benitez has said he will not be underestimating Europa League semifinal opponents Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Benitez -- who is looking to lift the trophy for a third time, having done so with Valencia and Chelsea -- has warned his players to be aware of the threat the Ukrainian side will pose, with the first leg being played in Italy.

"When you reach the semifinals of a European competition, it means you're an international top quality side," he told Napoli's official website.

"The results Dnipro have obtained to get here, knocking out Olympiakos, Ajax and Club Brugge, who were unbeaten up to then, demonstrate that."

The other semifinal sees Fiorentina take on defending champions Sevilla, with the first leg in Spain followed by a return at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

On paper, they face the most difficult challenge of the two Serie A sides looking to bring a European trophy to Italy for the first time since Inter won the Champions League in 2010.

"We've drawn the favourites, but we'll try to do what we can in the second leg," former Fiorentina midfielder Martin Jorgensen told the club's official website.

"We need to play two great games to reach the final."

Speaking to Mediaset television, he added: "We want to go all the way, and these are going to be two great games against Sevilla -- but it's not going to be easy for them to face Fiorentina either.

"Fiorentina must play without fear for these two games."