Conte: ‘Napoli have many difficulties, but when we work as a unit, we’re competitive’

Antonio Conte reiterates the difficulties that Napoli are pushing through to reach the Supercoppa Italiana Final after beating AC Milan. ‘When we work as a team unit, then we are competitive.’

The Partenopei were not in the best mood going into this clash in Riyadh, coming off two consecutive defeats in the Champions League to Benfica and Serie A to Udinese.

“I realise it is boring to keep repeating the same things, but when you play every three days with very few players available, it’s inevitable that there will be some setbacks,” Conte told Sport Mediaset.

“It’s what happened last week and can well happen in future. We wanted to play a strong performance against a great team full of talented players. Our style of football is very energetic and demanding, we don’t just try to defend and counter.

“I am glad because these lads showed they want to challenge for this trophy.”

He made some changes to bring in fresh legs and move Eljif Elmas into a more advanced role, but the goals were very similar, with Rasmus Hojlund getting to the left by-line and the first time Mike Maignan pushing the angled drive into the path of David Neres, the second beaten by the finish.

“We are doing alright physically, but it is inevitable that so many games saps your energy,” continued Conte.

“We paid a price for the recent wins, as we were drained against Benfica and in the second half with Udinese, but today we moved very well as a team unit. When we manage to work as a team, regardless of who is playing, then we are competitive.

“We’ve got to continue like this going forward. Those who were injured are still out, but the new players are now more involved than they were earlier in the season. I always said that I expected this to be a complicated campaign, but I didn’t expect this many injuries.”

There is some good news, because Romelu Lukaku was back on the bench for the first time since his muscle tear in a pre-season friendly match.

Is it possible for him to play with Hojlund in future rather than as alternatives to each other?

“First of all, let’s try to get Romelu back to full fitness,” replied Conte.

“He is such an important player for us, with so much experience. Just having him on the bench is important. I hope that we have many more games to play, so both will have chances.

“We are doing what we need to do now, there are players who are adapting to different roles, so I am getting a good response from everyone.”

This victory means Napoli will play the EA Sports FC Supercup Final against either Inter or Bologna, which is scheduled for Monday evening in Riyadh.

“We just wanted to be in the Final to have our chance at playing for the trophy. We know both potential opponents are very strong.”