Napoli: Conte says team stronger after tonight, explains why | OneFootball

Napoli, Conte in conference: «We come out stronger from tonight! Let me explain…»

Antonio Conte, Napoli's coach, made some statements in a press conference after the defeat against Manchester City.

«We come out stronger from this defeat. When we had possession, we could have hurt Manchester City. The strange thing is that last year we didn't have a single expulsion. In the Champions League, we got one after 20 minutes. For 70-80 minutes, we played 10 against 11 against a great team. I saw great desire and determination not to surrender to fate. We conceded a goal by pressing high. We need to be more attentive and understand that the game had changed. The feeling I had on the field was of guys who knew what they wanted. There was the intention to face Manchester City to measure ourselves. Neither we nor they can come out of this challenge with judgments; it would have been the same for them with one less. It's understandable to lose against Manchester City, I carry positive feelings with me. We played without fear, staying focused. We only need to reflect on that moment of the expulsion. There were all the conditions to make a bad impression. It's one thing to concede 2 goals and another to concede 5. We didn't deserve a disgrace, and we avoided it. Let's enjoy this journey in the Champions League. It becomes difficult to think if we can reach the top 8. Real and City struggled last year. We are armed, there are 7 more matches, and we want to achieve the maximum. We want to make ourselves proud. I was sorry to substitute De Bruyne. Sometimes fate is ironic. Since I've been coaching Napoli, we hadn't received an expulsion. De Bruyne had returned home. I had no other option, Kevin understood, he is a serious guy. Fate presented us with an unthinkable situation. I had thought of something else, but instead, I had to move Spinazzola to the right to find balance. We had changed the tactical setup. After Di Lorenzo's expulsion, we switched to 5-3-1. Politano is not a wing-back, we exposed him to one-on-one situations with Doku. We also received a yellow card, which is why I brought in a central like Jesus. There can be much discussion. I prefer not to play Politano if he has to be a wing-back; he can drop back, but he wouldn't have had the strength to restart with so much field to cover. We've just started this year's journey in the Champions League. It's understandable to lose to City even 11 against 11. Let's stay humble, calm, and serene; otherwise, we get confused. We trust our means. We know we're not the strongest, but we want to take some satisfaction. Let's take the positive aspect; we risked taking serious hits, we could have been overwhelmed with 5 goals. I carry positive feelings».

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