Antonio Conte makes belittling Napoli claim despite latest Serie A victory
Napoli have enjoyed a fast start to the season under new manager Antonio Conte, with the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss leading them to the summit of Serie A
by Tom Victor · The MirrorNapoli manager Antonio Conte claimed his Napoli team doesn't deserve top spot in Serie A despite their rapid start to the season continuing on Friday.
Former Italy manager Conte took over at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona over the summer, marking a return to management more than a year after leaving Tottenham. Napoli had struggled to a 10th place finish last season, having won the Scudetto the previous year.
The loss of Victor Osimhen, top scorer for the club in each of the last three seasons, prompted low expectations from some. However, a return of 16 points from the first seven games leaves Conte's side top of the table. Como were the latest side to fall at the hands of the league leaders, who ran out 3-1 victors on Friday. Not that Conte was willing to get carried away with the result.
"I don't know if this is currently a Napoli that deserves to be in first place in the standings, but we are first and that is a fact," Conte told DAZN (via ESPN). "If someone had told me this three months ago, it would have been difficult to believe. We're growing in terms of temperament, and in our ability to adapt-playing good football, but also willing to get our hands dirty when we need to. That's a great sign, and we have to embrace it fully."
Three of Conte's summer signings were on target on Friday. Scott McTominay opened the scoring in the first minute, only for Gabriel Strefezza to equalise for Como, but a Romelu Lukaku penalty and a late third from David Neres helped seal victory. Napoli have no European distractions this season, while Conte's suggestion that they can still improve may worry rivals. The manager has won Serie A four times already as a manager - three with Juventus and one with Inter Milan - and also led Chelsea to Premier League glory in 2017.
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The 55-year-old also pointed to the impact of the crowd in carrying his team forward. "Playing in Naples, at the Maradona, with a full stadium means that the players can really feel the crowd's emotions," he said. "If you make mistakes, you can feel the disappointment, and that can chip away at your confidence."
Napoli's next game comes against surprise package Empoli after the international break, followed by a meeting with Conte's hometown club Lecce. After that comes a meeting with one of the league's traditional big hitters, with the current leaders off to the San Siro to take on AC Milan.
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