Milan came out on top with a 2-1 win over Napoli at San Siro, thanks to goals from Saelemaekers and Pulisic, despite finishing the match with ten men and suffering in the closing minutes. After the final whistle, Napoli head coach Antonio Conte spoke to DAZN, breaking down his team’s performance and highlighting the areas where they need to improve.
On the team’s start and the goals conceded, Conte said:
«It’s disappointing to concede a goal so early. On both goals, as a team, we could have done better, which is almost always the case when you let one in. Going behind at San Siro after just four minutes isn’t easy. In the first half, we played our game — we pressed high, created chances — and that’s what matters. There’s work to do and improvements to make. Recently, we’ve been conceding more goals than usual. Our defensive phase has always been our strength, and we need to get back to conceding less. I liked our overall performance; we played a good match against Milan at San Siro. This game should give us good feelings, but at the same time, we must keep improving wherever we can».
Addressing the team’s recent defensive vulnerability, the Napoli coach was quick to provide context:
«Let’s start by saying this is our first Serie A defeat, and it came at San Siro against Milan — not against a bottom-of-the-table team. Milan has real quality, so it’s understandable they scored twice. That said, the players know we need to do better, but as a whole team, not just one department. At 2-0, it was tough, but we kept fighting, pressed high again, and created chances».
Conte also explained his decision to start Marianucci:
«Marianucci is a player we signed, and he’s part of this squad. He isn’t on our Champions League list, so he wouldn’t have been available on Wednesday anyway. He’s been training well and earned his place in the starting lineup. He has great potential and showed today that he belongs here. Hopefully, nothing happens to Beukema or Juan Jesus, as they’re the only central defenders available for Wednesday. When you play every three days and injuries hit your defense, it’s difficult to manage. Our growth will also depend on the new players, who have good potential but need time to develop. I’m happy with Marianucci’s performance today — it will help him grow. Gutierrez also came back after a long absence, and with him, we had to push a bit».
Finally, Conte discussed his substitutions and tactical choices during the match:
«I tried to bring on fresh players who could make a difference in one-on-one situations, and I switched the striker by putting Lucca on. When you make changes, you’re always trying to influence the game in a positive way, and I think these were the right moves».
In the post-match press conference, when asked about De Bruyne’s reaction to being substituted, Conte was very clear:
«I hope he was upset about the result, because if he was upset about anything else, he picked the wrong person…».
