Napoli coach Antonio Conte was pleased to see the team’s response to his plea for improvement when Napoli beat Torino in Serie A on Sunday to remain on top of the standings despite dropping some points in recent matches.
Napoli got back to winning ways last weekend with a 1-0 home win over AS Roma, and maintained the momentum at Torino with the same scoreline after suffering a 3-0 home loss against Atalanta followed by a 1-1 draw at Inter Milan earlier in November.
“I have a group of guys who really understand when I ask them to improve. This is the aspect I like the most, beyond the result and the standings,” Conte told a press conference.
“We are growing as individuals and as a team...
“Torino are a great team, I was really afraid of this game. I lived in Turin for more than thirty years, I warned the guys, (and got) a mature response.”
Torino keeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, brilliant throughout the day, dived to keep out a low back-heel shot by Romelu Lukaku that could have opened the scoring for Napoli in the 23rd minute.
The Serbia goalkeeper showed off his reflexes again when he stretched to deny Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s header one minute later, and continued to thwart Napoli’s attack after the restart.
“Sometimes you take refuge in the result, today we created but there was a great goalkeeper who prevented us from being more relaxed at the end,” added Conte.
Midfielder Scott McTominay eventually found a way past the Torino keeper in the 31st minute when he struck a shot powerfully inside the near post.
“He is a boy who was not a protagonist at (Manchester) United. I knew him well because I frequented the Premier League, he has quality,” Conte added.
“We were lucky because he agreed to come in a situation in which we were not playing in Europe, having finished in 10th place. He could have seen Napoli as a demotion, instead he came to be a protagonist.”
Despite his satisfaction with the result and his side’s growing form, the Italian coach pointed out that Napoli will need reinforcements if they keep up their good form and return to Europe next season.
“Looking at the other teams, how they’ve equipped themselves also in view of the commitments in Europe, and if we were to be good at getting into Europe, you will have to strengthen this squad... The president must know that,” Conte added.
“Today we have 21 outfield players and we have done what a team that only plays in the league and the Italian Cup does.”
Motta sees room for improvement after Juve held to another draw
Meanwhile, Juventus manager Thiago Motta said his side can improve collectively and individually after they conceded a late goal in a 1-1 draw at Lecce on Sunday.
Lecce grabbed a last-gasp leveller from Ante Rebic to earn a share of the spoils and leave Motta’s side six points behind league leaders Napoli, despite remaining unbeaten.
Juve are the league’s draw specialists, having set a new club record for Serie A draws in a single calendar year with 18, surpassing their previous mark set in 1956, with eight of them coming this season.
“It’s important to understand the moments in the matches. After taking the lead, we can improve certain aspects of the game, both collectively and individually,” Motta told DAZN.
“So far, in the league, we have gotten what we have deserved. Sometimes we have played better than the opponent, other times the games have been more balanced. We are where we need to be.”
Agencies