Conte hopes for referees’ ‘honesty’, question about Napoli’s Scudetto ‘absurd’

Napoli coach Antonio Conte refuses to blame his players after a 3-0 loss against Juventus, but hopes for referees’ ‘honesty’ and says questions about the Partenopei potentially winning the Scudetto are ‘absurd.’

Napoli suffered a 3-0 away defeat against Juventus on Sunday, slipping nine points below table leaders Inter.

The Partenopei came to this match without ten first-team players, including Kevin De Bruyne, Billy Gilmour, David Neres, Matteo Politano, Amir Rrahmani and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

Giovane made his debut as a substitute in the second half, less than 24 hours after completing a move from Verona.

Juventus scored an early lead with Jonathan David in the first half, while Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic killed off the game in the dying minutes.

“As long as the match was 1-0, it was abalnced and something could have happened to reach the equaliser. After we conceded the second goal, spaces opened up for them, and they also scored the third,” Conte told Sky Sport via TuttoNapoli.

“Congratulations to them, but also to my lads. There’s little to reproach, even tonight they gave everything. Sometimes you get past the obstacle, other times you don’t. Today, we managed it only in part. For the first time in my career, I brought on a player I had never seen before [Giovane], a youngster who arrived yesterday. We are sailing in an open sea, but we’re not getting off the boat. We want to fight with all our strength, knowing that we are living in an almost unbelievable situation.”

Napoli protested about a potential penalty kick before the break, with Conte demanding an on-field VAR review.

“I didn’t see it. I told Mariani, who referred us against Verona, that twice he had been called to VAR and changed his decision. These are on-field situations; we’re talking too much, and it’s not good,” said the Napoli boss.

“Let’s hope there’s always honesty from those who watch and those who referee. We hope for a clear game without anything strange. If there’s a mistake, it should be a human mistake. Before, one tolerated more, because it was a person making a mistake. With video, it’s more difficult to accept.”

Sky Sport asked whether Napoli still have Scudetto ambitions this season, and Conte made his thoughts clear: “It’s an absurd question at this moment. We’re not getting off the boat because there are still 16 league matches to go, and there are still many objectives. Champions League, Europa League, Conference League…we try to do our best, keeping the best possible attitude.

“The lads are giving everything. I see what they’re enduring, even risking their physical condition by playing every three days. It’s inevitable that in the end someone gets injured. I hope not. This season has been something incredible; it’s better to smile; it means we are paying for something we did in the past.”