Conte unhappy with Serie A fixture list after Champions League exit: ‘Bright idea’

Antonio Conte praised his Napoli players despite a 3-2 loss against Chelsea and the resulting Champions League elimination, but complained about the Serie A schedule: ‘You have to wonder who had the bright idea to schedule us at 18:00 on Saturday against Fiorentina.’

Napoli were the only Serie A team to face Champions League elimination in the league phase following a 3-2 loss against Chelsea on Wednesday.

The defending Serie A champions have been without several first-team players for over two months, including Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Zambo Anguissa and Billy Gilmour. The likes of Amir Rrahmani, Matteo Politano and David Neres suffered injuries more recently and are not expected to recover anytime soon.

Conte praised his players during post-match interviews, but also expressed his dissatisfaction with the Serie A fixture list (via TuttoNapoli).

“I think the performance should be appreciated, the way we played, with courage, everything we did while still going toe to toe with a team that’s built to achieve great things,” Conte said.

“We were clearly in big trouble in terms of players’ availability. Let’s not forget that these same players will be playing again on Saturday, in just two and a half days. You have to wonder who had the bright idea to schedule us at 18:00 on Saturday against Fiorentina, considering there’s a free week anyway. That also leaves me a bit puzzled.

“The lads went beyond my expectations. Playing a match like this against Chelsea…we deserved much more than what happened.”

Conte’s Napoli sit fourth in the Serie A table, level on 43 points with Roma.

Inter, Juventus and Atalanta qualified for the next Champions League phase, but finished outside the top eight, so they’ll be involved in the knock-out play-offs.