Conte lauds Napoli response
Antonio Conte lauded his Napoli players for how they reacted to conceding quickly after taking a two-goal lead in their 2-1 win over Fiorentina.
Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring in the first half before Giacomo Raspadori doubled Napoli's advantage on the hour as it looked set to ease to victory.
However, Albert Gudmundsson halved the deficit six minutes after Raspadori's strike, but Conte's side was able to hold on to halt its winless run in Serie A.
Napoli, which has both scored and conceded in each of its last eight league games, won a league match for the first time since 25 January, against Juventus.
Inter had opened up a four-point gap at the summit of the standings with its 3-2 win over Monza, but Conte's team ensured it stayed in the title race.
"I am very satisfied with the performance and the response of the team," Conte said.
"In a growth path, it is normal that after creating so much for 60-65 minutes and getting to 2-0, conceding a goal can generate excessive anxiety.
"You have to be good at managing it, cooling the moment and keeping the ball more, continuing to do things in the right way without conceding dangerous situations. The boys did well. I'm happy."
Napoli was sent on its way by Lukaku, who has now been involved in five goals in his last four Serie A appearances against Fiorentina (three goals and two assists).
The Belgian is the fourth player to have scored at least five goals both home and away in Serie A this term, after Mateo Retegui, Marcus Thuram and Ademola Lookman.
But Conte said that his squad must be more ruthless in its quest for the Scudetto this season, having wasted a number of chances in their most recent encounter.
"We didn't take big risks and the victory is deserved for what we created," Conte said.
"We scored less than we produced and this does not satisfy me, because in certain games you dominate the opponent and you cannot go to half-time only at 1-0.
"It only takes one episode and you can lose points."
Napoli is unexpectedly battling for a league title this season, with the club selling star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January, and are now without the injured Andre Anguissa and David Neres.
"The team passes off as normal that which is not, I must underline that," Conte said. "Injured players are missing, it's normal, our best player leaves, it's normal.
"The guys are doing a great job in finding alternative solutions, next time have confidence and let me do things without saying to play with 4-3-3 or anything else.
"It's easy to win the bet when you place it after the event."
