Manchester City against Napoli is ‘teachers vs students’ admits Antonio Conte | OneFootball

Antonio Conte has piled on remarkable praise for Napoli’s opponents Manchester City ahead of their clash at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.

The fixture marks Kevin De Bruyne’s highly anticipated return to Manchester following his summer exit to join Napoli on a free transfer, ensuring an emotional subplot to what is already a heavyweight UEFA Champions League league phase meeting.

Conte, however, sought to shift the spotlight from sentiment onto realism, stressing the sheer gulf in experience and pedigree between his Serie A champions and Pep Guardiola’s previously treble-winning Manchester City side.

This is far from the first time Pep Guardiola has heard praise from opposition coaches in the build-up to major European ties, with City regularly labelled favourites in continental competition.

Napoli themselves arrive in Manchester on the back of a strong domestic start under Conte, but the Italian coach insists their approach to this challenge must be grounded in humility and respect for one of Europe’s most dominant outfits.

Adding to the narrative, Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo this week spoke warmly of De Bruyne’s influence since joining the club, while City players such as Jeremy Doku have warned that no “mercy” will be shown when facing their former teammate.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference from the Etihad Stadium 24 hours prior to kick-off, Antonio Conte has spoke of the gulf in quality between the two sides heading into their meeting, comparing the clash to ‘teachers versus students’.

“Coming to Manchester in the most important European competition is definitely a reason to be proud, satisfied and especially having won Serie A last year,” said Conte.

“We’re definitely playing against a team where history speaks for itself. In the last couple of years they’ve been the only protagonist. They are a top club with a top coach. We arrive with great humility having had an amazing year last year and are proud to have that.”

The Italian coach continued, “We consider ourselves to be almost like students coming to play against the teachers. I don’t think that’s incorrect to say.

“From our part, there’s definitely a desire to understand and to play against these very powerful and very important clubs to see how we’re progressing.”

Antonio Conte’s framing of the clash underlines just how far Manchester City’s reputation has grown across Europe, with Pep Guardiola’s tactical innovations often used as benchmarks for rival clubs.

However, City supporters will know that humility from opposition managers does not always translate into an easy fixture. Napoli, with Kevin De Bruyne pulling strings in midfield, represent one of the toughest tests of this early Champions League campaign.

Looking ahead, the outcome of this clash could set the tone for both clubs’ group-stage journeys. For City, victory would reaffirm their credentials as outright favourites to progress deep into the competition once more. For Napoli, even a strong performance would provide encouragement that their Serie A title-winning foundations can carry into Europe’s elite level.