Serie A giants Napoli picked up a 2-1 loss at Como and fell to second in the table, sparking a reaction from manager Antonio Conte.
An Amir Rrahamani own goal had seen the Partenopei go down early in the game. This was followed by a Giacomo Raspadori equaliser in the 17th minute. But Assane Diao scored in the 77th minute and the goal proved to be the winner for Cesc Fabregasโ side, who continue to impress in the second half of the season.
Conte spoke to the press after the loss, which saw Napoli drop to second in the table. He described it as a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde performance from the Partenopei.
He said, via CalcioNapoli24: โIโm not looking for excuses, but we played Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde. We had two faces. Itโs happened before. Weโre a team that has to earn our living, Iโve said every time that victory has to be earned because if we slow down a little mentally, anything can happen.
โItโs a shame, the lads have nothing to do with it. I was the one who didnโt notice a slowdown in terms of attention and nastiness. We work every day and try to do our best. We have pressure on us today but itโs our own merit, thereโs no way weโre where we are today. Compared to Inter, weโre at โ 1 but weโve recovered 40 points from last year, and many on the others.โ
Speaking further, he praised the team as well: โWeโre doing something extraordinary, but at certain point we have to maintain it. Itโs not a given that we can hold out until the end, but we have to give our all and you know what has to burn us, Defeat must not be tolerated, the environment knows it and those who are with me know that I hate losing, we have to stay on top of things and the lads have done something extraordinary.
โThen the more you are at the top, the more you have to be prepared, even mentally: we have to continue to grow, the boys are doing something extraordinary. We have to seek excellence: itโs hard work, and it also comes from situations like these. But the nastiness we have to show must not be the one seen recently, when we let ourselves be overtaken.โ
The sideโs form has dropped off significantly in the last few weeks and they have failed to win any of their last four games in the league. Interโs win over Genoa yesterday has taken them to the top.
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Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN
