Conte: ‘Napoli didn’t come here to play the victim, we’re here to play the game’

Antonio Conte insists that his Napoli players must not be too disappointed after slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Torino in Serie A over the weekend, and says that they have come to ‘play the game’ against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday night. 

The Partenopei slipped to third in the Serie A standings with a surprise defeat away against Torino on Saturday, but Conte insists that he was not overly disappointed with his side’s performance. 

“I liked the performance in Turin, but the result was obviously negative and affects the general judgement. Now, we have to face up to this match against an excellent team, who won the Dutch championship last season. They are always key players,” Conte said during his pre-match press conference  on Monday evening, ahead of the Champions League test against PSV. 

“They play a particular type of football, we have to be very careful, but we did not come here to play the victim, but to play the game. There will be two phases, we will try to do them both in the best possible way.” 

Conte believes that it is only natural that this season feels tougher compared to last given that there was no European football to focus on during the 2024-25 campaign. 

He believes that the increase in fixtures may be part of the reason why Napoli have conceded more goals in 2025-26 compared to the same stage last season. 

“Compared to last season, we’ve conceded more goals but have scored more. The average has increased. Even in our last game, we had a lot of opportunities to score. It’s inevitable that we need more than just solidity, though, because the number of games has increased significantly compared to last year. Maybe this is what exposes you a bit, to counter-attacks and other risks.”

Conte was unable to say whether Scott McTominay will be part of the Napoli starting line-up against PSV on Tuesday night, as the decision will be up to the midfielder himself. 

“We have to wait until tomorrow, it will be him who makes the decision. He did individual work yesterday, he did part of the training today. 

“He had this problem with a cut at the top of his ankle. It will be up to him to take responsibility for the decision. I was a player before, and forcing them is never good. We’re waiting for his decision, knowing that he’s an important player for us. If he’s there, we’ll be very happy, otherwise, we have a solution ready.” 

Dutch journalists were particularly keen to hear about the development of former PSV winger Noa Lang, who will return to his old club on Tuesday night. 

“I think Noa is growing a lot from a tactical point of view, because he had a lot more freedom of movement in Holland, he worked a lot on an offensive level. When we decided to play with four midfielders, we had to make a sacrifice somewhere else, and that happened on the left.

“We had to look for an alternative solution to give us width, which we get from the full-back. I played Neres on the left when we went to a 4-3-3 because I thought he was more ready to play. Today, though,  Neres can play on the right and Lang will soon get a game in the starting line-up. He’s growing and working, he has to continue like this.”

And on Dutch defender Sam Beukema, Conte said: “The learning period is easier for Sam, because he’s already played in the Italian league, unlike Noa Lang. He’s more used to it, he’s working hard and trying to improve. 

And when asked if he is surprised that Beukema was not called up to the most recent Netherlands national team squad, Conte said: “We’re talking about a good player, who, in my opinion, has a lot of room to improve. I think the national team can be a goal for him. 

“It’s important that he continues to work to improve tactically and physically. But he’s certainly a good player who can have that target of becoming a Netherlands international.”