Napoli Kian Kukuh In Puncak After Defeating Como, This Is Coach Antonio Conte's Response
Napoli confirmed their position at the top of the Italian Serie A standings after beating Como 1907 with a score of 3-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Friday, October 4, 2024 evening WIB. Coach Antonio Conte's response to his team's unshakable position at the top?
Napoli maintained at least their position when they entered the competition due to international matches. In the last match before the Italian League was temporarily closed, Napoli won three points.
The victory over Como's promotion team made Napoli pocketed 16 points. They were also four points ahead of Juventus who were ranked second. If they win against Cagliari in Sunday, October 6, 2024, WIB, Juve can only close the distance between points and I Partenopei.
Meanwhile, Como, who has eight points, failed to improve his ranking. The Cesc Fabregas team is stuck in the middle board by occupying the 11th position. However, this position is quite good for a promotional team owned by Djarum, an Indonesian cigarette company.
Coach Antonio Conte stated that he could not confirm whether Napoli deserved to be at the top of the standings or not. However, after losing to Verona in the inaugural Serie A match, Napoli continued to advance and overtake their competitors, including defending champions Inter Milan who were ranked fourth with 11 points.
"I don't know if Napoli currently deserves to top the table. But in reality we are in first place," Conte said.
"If someone told me three months ago, it might be hard to believe. What is clear, we are constantly developing and can already play good football. This is certainly a good signal for us," he said again.
In that match, Napoi immediately took the lead through midfielder Scott McTominay's quick goal. The captain of the Scottish national team who was brought in from Manchester United managed to break into Como's goal when the game had only been running for 25 minutes.
McTominay completed a mature pass from Romelu Lukaku who has also played at MU. Only after winning through a quick goal, Napoli slightly lowered the tempo of the game. On the other hand, Como played more aggressively and created a number of chances.
Midfielder Nico Paz almost equalized. But his shot still hit the post. Como's effort finally paid off just before halftime. Winger Gabriel Strefezza broke the deadlock after finishing the assist from Maxime Perrone. Score 1-1 and lasted until the first half was over.
Entering the second half, Napoli again showed aggressiveness by pressing Como's defense. As a result, Napoli took the lead again after Lukaku scored from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute.
Napoli were awarded a penalty following the violation of midfielder Sergi Roberto who brought down Mathias Olivera in the restricted area. The referee then pointed to the spot and Lukaku completed the execution well.
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Napoli actually continued to play attacking in order to suppress opponents after winning 2-1. However, their efforts failed more often.
However, the 2023 Italian League champion was finally able to add goals. This time, the substitute David Neres who solidified the hosts' advantage in the 86th minute.
Again, Lukaku played a role in Napoli's final goal process. The Belgian national team player who was borrowed by Inter Milan and AS Roma while still playing at Chelsea provided Neres' assist. The score changed to 3-1 and lasted until the game was over.