Napoli 0-2 Lazio – Conte: ‘De Laurentiis can say what he wants, today was a kick to the teeth’
Antonio Conte delivered one of his more revealing post-match addresses after Napoli’s chastening home defeat to Lazio, accepting responsibility for failing to read his squad’s deteriorating condit...
Napoli 0-2 Lazio – Conte: ‘De Laurentiis can say what he wants, today was a kick to the teeth’ Antonio Conte delivered one of his more revealing post-match addresses after Napoli’s chastening home defeat to Lazio , accepting responsibility for failing to read his squad’s deteriorating condition while firing a pointed but carefully measured response at president Aurelio De Laurentiis over public comments about his future. Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News & Content – Free Trial – Click Here The Napoli head coach was candid about the performance, acknowledging that the hangover from the Parma draw had clearly spread deeper than he realised. “This was not a good match from us, we put very little quality in midfield,” he said, with quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb .
“Lazio waited for us and hit on the counter. We had 70% possession and did not manage a single shot on target. We had studied the match but we were not good enough.
When this team lacks energy, quality drops. Perhaps I was not good enough at sensing the malaise that developed after Parma. ” It was a rare and notable admission of self-criticism from a manager not given to public introspection.
NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 18: Antonio Conte SSC Napoli head coach before the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and SS Lazio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 18, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) Napoli coach Conte: ‘We took a kick to the teeth today’ Despite the heaviness of the moment, Conte was keen to frame the defeat as a lesson rather than a crisis. “We have taken a kick to the teeth today,” he said.