Conte: ‘Napoli disappointed with Inter draw, this gives us belief’ | OneFootball

Antonio Conte feels ‘disappointment’ after the 1-1 draw with leaders Inter, insisting Napoli ‘deserved more’ than a point, but the fightback will give them ‘belief’ in the Scudetto race.

It was a huge clash at the top of the table and the Nerazzurri had gone in front through a magical Federico Dimarco free kick in the first half.

Although they were pouring forward to seek an equaliser, the Partenopei had to wait until the 87th minute for substitute Philip Billing to beat Josep Martinez at the second time of asking on a Stanislav Lobotka assist.

“There is some disappointment, because we had a very good performance against a truly strong opponent. Inter are a tank built over the years to challenge for the Scudetto and they are now the team to beat,” Conte told DAZN.

“Having played this well against them and Juventus must show us that even with difficulty, missing important players, we can have our say with organisation, focus and intelligence. This just adds to the regrets for the second half against Como, where we lacked determination and hunger.

“If we always show this determination, then we’ll be right up there to the end of the season. We’ll be like cats, hanging on with our claws.”

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Conte admits Napoli want the Scudetto

epa11933044 Napoli’s head coach Antonio Conte reacts during the Italian Serie A soccer match SSC Napoli vs Inter FC at Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples, Italy, 01 March 2025. EPA-EFE/CIRO FUSCO

While Napoli are without a win in five Serie A rounds and have not kept a clean sheet in seven, Conte saw improvement from his old Inter striker Romelu Lukaku.

“I thought this was Romelu’s best performance since he came to Napoli. If he dominates, then so do we. This season he has struggled a little, but he made his mark today in attack, we all played with great courage and I told the lads to press high without fear of leaving one-on-one situations, because if you let Inter play, they will cause you problems,” continued the coach.

“We had a great performance, we certainly deserved more than a point, but this is a match that can give us belief. After seven months of this journey, we are starting to understand there is something good here and we can make life difficult for anyone against Napoli.”

The result, along with Atalanta’s 0-0 draw against Venezia, means the Scudetto race remains identical to this morning, with Inter one point clear at the top of the table.

“It should make us happy, but there are 11 games to go. If they had told us at the start of the season that we’d be one point off the top with 11 rounds to go, we’d have locked them up,” noted Conte.

“Instead now we are here, we are Napoli and we know that this is a strong team. Inter and Atalanta are also ready to compete until the end, while Juventus are lying in wait. We must keep doing what we’ve done so far and carry that on.”

Conte wanted to reserve particular thanks to the fans, as the atmosphere at the sold out Stadio Diego Armando Maradona inspired his Napoli side.

“Giving these fans joy is the best thing in the world for a coach.”