Mediaset – Napoli drained by Champions League, Conte learns lesson | OneFootball

MEDIASET – Napoli, the Champions League Takes Away Points and Energy! Conte Has Learned Something…

The Champions League takes away points and energy. This is the mantra that the biggest clubs love to repeat, often to justify performances below expectations. This, paraphrasing and interpreting Conte’s summer, is the thought of the Napoli coach who throughout the preseason emphasized the importance of extending the squad with quality players. And who can blame him. The proof for the Italian champions, after a season spent watching others play every three days, came at the first opportunity, from Manchester to the Maradona, facing first City and then Pisa. The latter, which on paper shouldn’t have posed much of a problem, actually ended up being a tough obstacle to overcome, playing against the opponent’s excellent organization but also against heavy legs and clouded minds. If the best on the field was Spinazzola, someone who fought all over the pitch in Manchester, it was the so-called second-string players who made the difference, but even before that, the strength of a group that was fully visible in the clamorous celebration after Lucca’s temporary 3-1 goal—perhaps one of the players struggling the most in Napoli’s perfect start to the league season. Gilmour scored, Lucca scored, and with De Bruyne leading both with the ball at his feet and with his words. This is how Napoli must continue on its path of growth, and from the hard-fought 3-2 win over Pisa, Conte will surely have learned that he can count on his new group, whether from the start or from the bench.

Carlo Gioia

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