Antonio Conte said it was “absurd” to talk about Napoli’s ambitions of retaining their Serie A title in the wake of their 3-0 defeat to Juventus at Allianz Stadium.
Conte watched on as his team were humbled upon his return to Turin on Sunday, with Jonathan David, Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic on target for the Bianconeri.
Indeed, Napoli lost a Serie A match by at least three goals for only the third time under Conte, after defeats to Hellas Verona and Atalanta at the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
And after five wins and four draws in all competitions, Napoli were beaten for the first time since December 14, though this defeat could prove to be the most costly.
Conte’s team are now nine points adrift of leaders Inter in the standings, with the Opta supercomputer assigning them a 4.3% chance of sitting top of the pile, with AC Milan (12.8%) and Inter (78.6%) better fancied.
“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,” Conte said.
“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.”
One of the positives for Napoli was a first competitive appearance of the season for Romelu Lukaku, who replaced Antonio Vergara in the 79th minute of the contest.
However, his arrival could not inspire a late turnaround, with Napoli now failing to win three consecutive away games in all competitions, drawing twice and losing once.
Conte, though, believed the match was closer than the scoreline suggested, despite his team generating an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.52 from nine shots to Juventus’ 1.49 from 12 attempts.
“As long as the match was 1-0, it was balanced, and something could have happened to reach the equaliser,” Conte added.
“After we conceded the second goal, spaces opened up for them, and they also scored the third. 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.
“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 will hope to return to winning ways this Wednesday, with Conte’s former club, Chelsea, the visitors to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the Champions League.
Conte’s side are 25th in the 36-team standings and know a positive result is a must if they are to reach the play-off round of the competition.
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