Conte: ‘Napoli felt cursed, need more goals to avoid heart attacks’ | OneFootball

Antonio Conte felt Napoli were ‘cursed’ against Venezia until the late Giacomo Raspadori winner and reiterates his delicate balance between a winning mentality and realism.

The pressure was on the Partenopei, knowing a victory would put them joint top of the table with Atalanta following last night’s 1-1 draw at Lazio.

However, it proved considerably tougher than expected, as Romelu Lukaku saw his penalty parried by Filip Stankovic – the son of former Inter and Lazio midfielder Dejan – before Raspadori came off the bench to snatch a late winner.

“I am working with Raspadori to make him into an attacking midfielder. When games are tactically blocked, he can provide an important alternative for us,” Conte told DAZN.

“He trains in a very professional way, is involved in the project and we need to find more goals, that is without doubt. There aren’t many goals in the individual players, so we are trying to find new solutions.

“The lad feels totally within the role and inevitably he has a more attacking approach to it, especially when joined by Neres and Lukaku.”

Conte still tweaking Napoli options

NAPLES, ITALY – DECEMBER 29: Giacomo Raspadori of Napoli during the Serie A match between Napoli and Venezia at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on December 29, 2024 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

It was only when Conte changed system to 4-2-3-1 and crucially moved David Neres over to the left that the breakthrough arrived.

“It’s a shame we got to the final 10 minutes still on 0-0, but it felt like the game was cursed. We dominated possession, had 25 shots on goal, missed a penalty and hit the post, I wouldn’t have been surprised if we had even lost it with those circumstances,” continued the coach.

“Venezia did well, they had a surprising approach with Pohjanpalo on the bench, focusing instead on defending and counter-attacking. They had two very fast forwards who could’ve caused us problems and Alex Meret did well too to keep them out.

“I am pleased, because the team is improving, but if we can score a few more goals then we’d all be more relaxed and avoid a few heart attacks in the closing stages.”

This victory also takes Conte to 500 Serie A points earned in his coaching career, so having won the Scudetto at Juventus and Inter, he is expected to bring that winning mentality to Napoli too.

“Even if I play cards with my daughter, I still want to win. I also said that I would never settle for the minimum objective, but at the same time we must also know where we are starting from and what the club’s objectives are,” insisted the coach.

“These two ideas might seem to be counter-intuitive, but there is still a difference. I do not accept minimum targets, but at the same time having 41 points after 18 rounds is with all due respect beyond what anyone could’ve expected.

“We want to continue working, the lads are improving and we also need a bit of luck avoiding injuries, but the squad giving us satisfaction,” concluded Conte.