Napoli 2-3 Chelsea – Conte ‘proud’ despite UCL exit; praises ‘impressive’ Joao Pedro
Antonio Conte painted a sorry picture this evening after his Napoli side were eliminated from the Champions League at the league phase; losing 3-2 at home to Premier League side Chelsea, despite leading 2-1 at half-time.
Napoli had to win to stay in the tournament, although they still would have had to win a two-legged play-off side as it would not have been enough to finish in the top eight of the league.
Speaking to Sky Sport Italia after the game, Conte said: “The difference was the finishing, they were far more precise and clinical in front of goal.”
Conte praised Brazilian forward Joao Pedro, who scored two brilliant goals for the visitors to complete the second-half comeback.
“I feel that Joao Pedro made the difference tonight, he is a really impressive player.”
“We feel great pride and satisfaction, because despite missing more than half the squad, we played if not on the same level, then even better than Chelsea, and deserved a lot more,” continued Conte.
Conte echoed comments from captain Di Lorenzo, who told press after the game that Napoli were not eliminated from the tournament solely based on tonight, with the mistakes coming earlier in the campaign.
“I told the lads that the regret was in Copenhagen, where we simply couldn’t let that win slip through our fingers. It forced us to be in this situation against a top club, don’t forget Chelsea won the Club World Cup, they have extraordinary players on the field, the bench and even left in the stands.”
Conte proud of Napoli despite loss to Chelsea
Conte was proud of his side, despite the result, claiming they gave Chelsea a good contest a the Maradona.
“I am so proud of our lads, because we pressed them, created chances, fought them for every ball. It’s a pity, we deserved to at least get into the play-offs.
“Their quality in the final third was decisive. The problem is that Chelsea didn’t even have that many scoring opportunities, but when they got into those positions, they hurt you,” added Conte.
Conte was clear that his side’s performance tonight impressed him, but stressed there is still room to improve.
“We got ourselves into those situations and some crosses could be decisive, but we need to improve. I still say it was an impressive performance, we were not afraid, we attacked them, we accepted duels leaving space behind us, and I think played good football.”
On the changing state of football, the coach said:
“This is the way, football is evolving, it changes, and you have to adapt and prepare. It’s just a pity that we won’t continue measuring ourselves up against the best teams in this competition. We did it today against Chelsea, and I feel did it well, but we paid for the great quality they had available to them.”
Conte once again underlined how the difference in quality available to both coaches was instrumental in determining the result.
“Mistakes can be made, but when you have players like Joao Pedro who have such a high level, they punish your every tiny error. We honoured the Champions League with this performance, causing Chelsea huge problems, and I think the result does not reflect the game at all.”
Conte talks differences between Premier League and Serie A teams
He was then asked to comment on how the tempo of Premier League teams compares to Serie A?
“In the Champions League, you often find opponents who play open and attacking football, so there has to be intensity and duels. Serie A is more tactical, teams can clam up and you have to find the solution to unlock them. In Europe there are more duels, there is more pitch to defend.
“Having said that, in modern football, you cannot just park the bus. I want my teams to play with a higher tempo and be aggressive. Even with 13 players out, we were brave and aggressive. This is what allowed us to win the Scudetto and Supercoppa, it is the way forward. I am convinced that with more players at my disposal, we can improve further.”