Benitez is thus increasingly confident about his side's chances of pipping Roma - who have now drawn six of their last seven Serie A games - to automatic qualification for the group stage of next season's Champions League.
"They have more pressure on them than we do on us because they're in front," the Spaniard told Sky Sport Italia.
"They're strong but they have some problems we can continue as we are.
"It depends also on them, but we have clear ideas and we're moving forward.
"Are we better than Roma? Today we've only shown that we're a bit better than Sassuolo.
"Is my future tied to second place? We're not wasting time on these things. We'll concentrate on what's happening on the field, not other questions."
Duvan Zupata, who was only starting because of the unavailability of the suspended Gonzalo Higuain, opened the scoring at the San Paolo before teeing up Marek Hamsik for the all-important second goal.
Benitez was satisfied with the Colombian's performance but says that the striker will have to deliver on a regular basis if he is to secure a starting berth.
"It's not easy leaving Duvan on the bench, but Higuain is ahead of him," the former Liverpool boss added.
"But Duvan must do what he did tonight: work a lot, score goals and create chances for his team-mates."
Napoli next host Trabzonspor in the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie, leading 4-0 from the first leg in Turkey, before then travelling to Torino for a vital Serie A clash.
culled from goal.com
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