Napoli manager Antonio Conte commended his team after their narrow victory over Atalanta on Saturday, emphasizing the significant progress they have made in recent months.
Romelu Lukaku’s late header secured a 3-2 win for Napoli, boosting their chances of winning the Scudetto and seeking revenge for their 3-0 defeat at home to Atalanta in November. “I had previously mentioned that this team has made tremendous strides. Let’s not forget that just a little over two months ago, Atalanta scored three goals against us at our own turf,” Conte informed the reporters. “I believe that if we had more time to go through the process, we would have performed even better.
The team has primarily improved in handling challenging situations, and that’s what I want to emphasize.” Conte acknowledged the difficulties his team faced with the departure of key player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris St Germain and defender Alessandro Buongiorno being sidelined due to injury. “We are dealing with circumstances, whether it be injuries or more recently, the transfer market, that would be enough to defeat anyone. However, we are still standing strong,” he remarked.
“We never complain, we persevere and I always mention that I have a team of players who are eager to put in the hard work. The progress of each individual player then contributes to our collective improvement.”
Conte refused to discuss the search for a replacement for Kvaratskhelia. “I leave that decision up to the club. I don’t involve myself in the transfer market,” he stated.
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini took the defeat in his stride. “I believe we come out stronger from matches like this. We now have the Champions League, followed by Serie A and the Coppa Italia. We’re playing every three days, so we don’t have time to dwell on a result that didn’t go our way,” Gasperini told Sky Sports Italia. “It’s fine, we need to focus on our journey. Maybe today we paid a heavy price, but in other games, we were luckier. Overall, I witnessed a magnificent performance.”
