Antonio Conte had an unhappy reunion with Chelsea as his Napoli side were dumped out of the Champions League after a 3-2 loss.
In the lead-up to the game, Antonio Conte was very complimentary of Chelsea and in particular, the path they’re heading on under their current owners.
After a successful time of things at Stamford Bridge, it’s not hard to understand why he still has so much admiration for Chelsea.
However, not even a man of his tactical ability could stop Liam Rosenior‘s side, who turned things around in the second half after the introduction of Cole Palmer.
And after the game, Antonio Conte showed his class with a kind comment towards Joao Pedro.
Jamie Carragher owes Chelsea an apology ⏱️
What will his excuse be?
Jamie Carragher gets Chelsea Champions League prediction all wrong
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
Antonio Conte believes Joao Pedro ‘made the difference’ in Chelsea’s win over Napoli
Joao Pedro added two lovely goals to his Chelsea tally for the season, showing he does have what it takes to lead the line for the Blues.
And his performance didn’t go unnoticed either.
Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was very complimentary when speaking to Sky Italia, despite seeing his side get dumped out of the Champions League.
“Joao Pedro made the difference. Today, he is an important player for Chelsea. He condemned us and forced us to play the game against a top club that has extraordinary players.
“Joao Pedro punished us in an important way.”
Joao Pedro was Chelsea’s Player of the Match, but who was the best supporting act?
Napoli 2-3 Chelsea
Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
What else did Antonio Conte say about Chelsea?
A furious Antonio Conte is right when he says that his side was perhaps the better side in the game, not to take anything away from Chelsea’s display.
“There is great pride and satisfaction because, despite having more than half the team out, we played better than Chelsea,and we deserved much more. Chelsea won the Club World Cup and has extraordinary players, but we played on an equal footing.”
Antonio Conte gave a special shout-out to the Chelsea fans ahead of the game, with memories fresh in his mind of the ‘Antonio, Antonio’ chants that used to ring out.
The same can’t be said about Romelu Lukaku, who was labelled a ‘Chelsea reject’ in Naples.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox