FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - November 10, 2024 Napoli coach Antonio Conte reacts REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo/File Photo
(Reuters) - Napoli manager Antonio Conte stressed the importance of focusing on the team's improvement rather than on their position in the Serie A standings after his side climbed back to the top with a narrow win over AS Roma on Sunday.
Conte's side secured a 1-0 win at home against Roma, with Romelu Lukaku scoring a second-half sliding tap-in.
A victory was needed to reclaim the Serie A lead after Napoli dropped points following a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan and a 3-0 home defeat to Atalanta. However, Conte emphasised that this was not part of the match preparation.
"Before the match, I told the lads not to look at the table, but to focus on ourselves and improving what we are working on," Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
"I maintain that now too because we need to take a series of steps to raise the level."
Conte added that Roma were strong in set plays and eager to impress under new coach Claudio Ranieri.
"I was satisfied with the performance for a good 65 minutes today, we could’ve taken more of our chances and were up against a strong Roma who have great players," Conte said.
"Roma were also making their debut under a new coach and therefore were very eager to prove themselves, but we still should’ve dealt with the final 15-20 minutes better, as we sat too deep and made it complicated for ourselves."
Midfielder Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was substituted near the end of the match and the Georgian international seemed unhappy as he left the field.
"He returned from international duty with a few adductor issues, so hasn’t been training fully," Conte said.
"Khvicha did what he needed to in the first half, but once we scored and I saw the team needed fresh legs, as well as not to risk doing any muscular damage to him."
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
