Conte: ‘Napoli extraordinary and we will try to defend Scudetto’
Conte: ‘Napoli extraordinary and we will try to defend Scudetto’ Antonio Conte feels Napoli beating Milan to take second place during an injury crisis is ‘extraordinary,’ but while they must be ‘realistic,’ this team still ‘wants to defend the Scudetto to the end. ’ This was a massive showdown for second place and the opportunity to keep up the pressure on leaders Inter, and it really did not start in the best way for the Partenopei. Rasmus Hojlund came down with a stomach bug overnight and was ruled out of the squad, so with Romelu Lukaku, David Neres, Antonio Vergara, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Amir Rrahmani injured, Conte had to give January signing Giovane his first start as a makeshift centre-forward.
It was a substitute who decided the match, Matteo Politano volleying in a poor Koni De Winter clearance at the back post at the 79 th minute. Conte thanks decimated Napoli NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 06: Massimiliano Allegri AC Milan greets Antonio Conte SSC Napoli head coach before the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and AC Milan at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 06, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) “This victory gives us a great deal of enthusiasm and confidence, because we must never forget that if we are up there in second place, it is thanks to those lads who covered for all the absences we dealt with this season,” Conte told DAZN Italia.
“Hojlund was missing today, but we haven’t had Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Neres and Vergara for a while either, so that’s five players who are almost all regular starters. It’s extraordinary that the team has stayed up there despite these absences. “Any other side would’ve fallen apart and lost its fight.
I think of Elmas, who came on for the final 15 minutes, he was a key player during the many absences. Mazzocchi, Beukema, they were protagonists over the season. “That was extraordinary, not what we saw this evening.
It’s inevitable that the more players we get fit, the more we have choices and the more we can rotate to keep everyone fresh. ” NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 06: SSC Napoli team pose before the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and AC Milan at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 06, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) The news only started to filter through in the afternoon that Hojlund not only might not be in the starting XI, but wasn’t even ready for a spot on the bench.
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