Antonio Conte Delighted as Napoli Resuscitates Serie A Title Aspirations with Victory Over Milan

Napoli’s manager, Antonio Conte, expressed his satisfaction with his team’s resurgence in the Serie A title race following a 2-1 victory over AC Milan at home on Sunday.

This win propelled Napoli to within three points of leaders Inter Milan, who triumphed 2-1 against Udinese, while Atalanta, currently in third place, suffered a 1-0 defeat to Fiorentina.

“This is a significant result that keeps us in close pursuit of Inter, while also maintaining a gap from fifth place,” Conte remarked during an interview with DAZN.

“Initially, our goal wasn’t even to secure a Champions League spot. We set out aiming for Europe, and now that we are in contention, it would be foolish not to believe in the possibility of something extraordinary after months of hard work.”

Napoli commanded the first half, establishing a 2-0 advantage with strikes from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku. However, AC Milan clawed their way back into the match as Luka Jovic found the net in the second half, prompting Conte to adjust his tactical strategy.

“There are days where I truly dislike being a coach,” he commented. “We were dominant in the first half, but we must remember that AC Milan are a formidable side … and they bolstered their squad in January.”

Scott McTominay missed the match due to flu-like symptoms, and Leonardo Spinazzola was ruled out because of injury, while David Neres made his return to the starting eleven.

“We lost McTominay at the eleventh hour, which forced me to take a gamble. Additionally, I had to push Frank Anguissa back into action after he returned from international duty with an injury, and David Neres was also coming in without much recent game time,” Conte explained.

Despite a challenging patch that saw just one win in their preceding seven league encounters, Conte conveyed that Sunday’s victory has instilled fresh optimism in their title aspirations, although he emphasised the need for a patient approach.

“We must recognise that we are achieving something remarkable and almost miraculous. That said, we need to remain tenacious; with eight matches remaining, we’ll take it one game at a time before contemplating what lies ahead,” the manager concluded.