Napoli manager Antonio Conte could not hide his disappointment following his side’s performance in their narrow 2-1 win over Genoa and has charged his players to ‘up their game’ in subsequent matches.
The Partenopei raced into a two-goal lead in the first half of the game as goals from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Amir Rrahmani set them up for a comfortable win.
However, they had a second half to forget as Genoa pulled a goal back and threatened to produce an equalizer.
“Simply focusing on the three points does not foster growth. Our first-half display was arguably our best this season, yet I did not foresee such a lackadaisical second half. I sensed something was amiss in the dressing room at halftime”, he warned.
The 2022/23 Serie A champions had goalkeeper Alex Meret to thank as he produced superb saves to deny 13th-placed Genoa a point.
“The players must understand the importance of maintaining pressure throughout the match, from start to finish. I was displeased with every aspect of our second-half performance.
Our philosophy should revolve around defending by attacking; that’s our guiding principle,” he continued, emphasizing the room for improvement within his squad.”
The win moved them to the top of the league standings temporarily until all fixtures are completed at the end of the Matchday and Conte has called for massive improvements from his players if they are to challenge for the title.
“If we are to entertain ambitions of climbing the standings and challenging for top honours, we must perform consistently for the entire 95 minutes”, Conte continued.
Napoli’s next fixture is a home game at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium against bottom side Venezia as they look to continue their resurgent form into the season.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
