Napoli 0-0 Como – Fabregas: ‘No team has ever pressed Napoli at the Maradona like we did’

Cesc Fabregas was full of pride after Como held reigning Serie A champions Napoli to a goalless draw at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, praising his young players for their courage and intensity.

“I’m happy, but only up to a point,” Fabregas told DAZN, via IlNapolista.

“When you play like this, you have to win. We took another step forward today against the Italian champions. We pressed them: no team has ever pressed Napoli like that at the Maradona. We did it with three players aged 20, two of 21 and one of 22.”

The match finished 0-0 but it could have been a different story, after Vanja Milinkovic-Savic pulled off a good save to deny a poor Alvaro Morata penalty.

The result sees Como move up to 5th place in Serie A for the time being, as Fabregas’ side continue to improve their standing amongst the big dogs of Italian football.

The Spanish coach emphasised the project’s long-term vision and the team’s youth-driven identity.

“People like to talk about the €100 million spent, but our investments were in kids; some came here for free. Playing here is a huge satisfaction; the name Maradona alone inspires fear. The boys moved me for 75 minutes and then knew how to suffer through the end.”

Fabregas also reflected on the lessons learned from his former Chelsea coach, Antonio Conte, now at Napoli.

“Antonio has a lot of passion and has evolved a lot since our time together at Chelsea. A good coach is seen in the identity of his team,” he said. “We’re improving, but it’s a long process. We’re only at the beginning.”