CorSport – Conte and Napoli bounce back after Manchester loss | OneFootball

CorSport – Conte and Napoli Have Already Bounced Back After the Defeat in Manchester

The first defeat of the season came on Thursday in Manchester against City, the night of their Champions League debut and their return to Europe after 555 days of waiting. A sudden halt? More of a bump in the road, a spin-out against a red wall – in the form of a card – that irreparably complicated and then compromised a European night that, for twenty minutes, had offered excellent sensations. The English affair certainly fueled bitterness and regrets: the feeling is that everyone, absolutely everyone, would like a second round with equal numbers. But that's not possible, at least not yet. So it's best to focus on the key fact: the detour did not interrupt the journey. The streak that currently catapults Napoli to the top of a special ranking that extends beyond national borders: Conte's team, at this moment, is experiencing the longest ongoing unbeaten run among the top five leagues in Europe. No one, among the champions of Italy or across the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, and Serie A, matches them: 15 consecutive positive results, including 10 wins and 5 draws, collected across two seasons since March 1st (1-1 with Inter). That is: 12 in the title-winning season, 3 in the one just begun. The last defeat, for the record, dates back to February 23rd, away at Como, 211 days ago on Monday: that was the last time the team lost the top spot, before their title-winning comeback.

Focusing on a single season, the longest unbeaten streak put together by Conte’s Napoli is precisely the 12 that form the foundation of the current run. On Monday against Pisa, moreover, the team could also achieve, for the third time, a streak of five consecutive Serie A victories under Mr. Antonio’s management, after those in October 2024 and January.

Numbers and statistics aside, as flattering as they may be, the primary objective is first and foremost to produce a strong reaction – preferably matching the performance against Fiorentina – after the setback in Manchester: knowing the coach, this is certainly the first sign he is waiting to see, regardless of the turnover and the players he decides to confirm or replace compared to the City match, with one eye on the upcoming clash with Milan. The second, third, and fourth objectives would then be direct and interconnected consequences: beating Pisa would extend the positive streak to 16 and the winning streak in the league to 5; maintaining their unbeaten status and also the top spot in the standings, regardless of Juventus’ result in Verona against Hellas.

The defeat to City, however, paradoxically also created positive talking points, highlighted by Conte after the match: “I’m happy with the approach, with the first twenty minutes. With the dedication, the attitude we brought to the game. I was more upset about how we managed the end against Fiorentina,” he said. All of this was evident in practice with what Napoli managed to do before Di Lorenzo’s sending off, the first ever since he became coach: it’s all part of the game, of course, but it’s curious to think about. No worries, though, the team has already bounced back: yesterday they were back on the pitch after returning from Manchester, today as well, and tomorrow too. And so it will be until Monday, the night of another league match and another sold-out crowd at the Maradona. Yes, a full stadium against Pisa and then against Sporting Lisbon: the fans believe, just like the team.

Carlo Gioia

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.