Antonio Conte assessed Napoli’s goalless draw with Como as a “good performance,” marking “another step forward” in their pursuit of Champions League qualification.
The match ended 0-0, mirroring their earlier encounter at the Stadio Maradona. Como had previously eliminated Napoli on penalties in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals after another stalemate.
Although Como had clear scoring opportunities, including Amir Rrahmani’s goal-line clearance and a save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Napoli also came close. Matteo Politano hit the woodwork late in the game, and Scott McTominay’s counter-attack shot went wide.
Conte pleased with Napoli stalemate
“It was certainly a good performance, as without that you don’t emerge unscathed from a game where both Napoli and Como had a lot at stake. Como probably had more at stake with Champions League qualification,” Conte told DAZN Italia.
“We were a little too timid in the first half and didn’t put the right pressure on. Let us not forget they have a goalkeeper who makes it very difficult, because with the slightest wrong movement, he can get away and then force you to sprint back to cover the space.
“We improved in terms of quality after the restart, had chances to score goals, but there are three games to go. We made another step forward, not just for a Champions League place, but also to try and finish as high up the table as possible.
“The lads did well, we must congratulate them for the performance against a tough opponent.”
Despite potential counter-attack situations, Kevin De Bruyne, substituted early, appeared somewhat rusty. “Como created some opportunities when we lost the ball, so we weren’t as clean in our passing, the central midfielders were too stretched out and not close enough to each other. The playmakers need to be more co-ordinated,” Conte continued.
“We lost the ball stupidly a couple of times and that created some tension. We improved a lot after the break, with two big scoring opportunities, but even in the first we had some situations with Hojlund where we could’ve made better choices.
“De Bruyne is in the same condition he was last week, not much has changed in seven days. He had done very well against Cremonese and scored a goal, but some games you can do better than others, he played his part today. I decided to bring on Anguissa and move McTominay into a more advanced role.”
This draw solidifies Napoli’s second-place position, though Inter can secure the Scudetto the following evening with a point against Parma.
