NAPLES, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 22: Antonio Conte SSC Napoli head coach during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Pisa SC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on September 22, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Antonio Conte insists Napoli’s 3-2 victory over Pisa is a sign of what is to come now they are in the Champions League too. ‘Unlike other clubs, we are not accustomed to this.’
It was another far from comfortable home win for the Partenopei, who were leading 3-1 through Billy Gilmour, Leonardo Spinazzola and Lorenzo Lucca goals, around an M’Bala Nzola penalty.
However, Giovanni Di Lorenzo capped off a nightmare week after his Champions League red card by giving the ball away for Lorran to set up a tense finale, scraping past Pisa 3-2.
“It is never easy to win and we played against a team I had warned my players about, because they are very physical, with a lot of intensity and changes of pace,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
“This was a tough match, as if you leave spaces, they can do damage if the high press fails and they get a head of steam. We are satisfied to have started with four wins, putting fuel in the tank for what will be a very balanced season.”
Conte taking nothing for granted at Napoli
NAPLES, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 22: Lorenzo Lucca of SSC Napoli celebrates after scoring his side third goal during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Pisa SC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on September 22, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
The Lucca goal seemed to mean a great deal to Conte, who went wild with his celebrations rushing onto the field to leap onto his players.
“I was happy because Lucca is working so hard. When I urge calm and prudence, I am not trying to protect myself, I am just warning that unlike other clubs, we do not have a squad that is well-drilled and accustomed to playing in Serie A, the Champions League, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana,” continued the coach.
“We had to plump up the squad with players who arrived from totally different situations. When you have the Scudetto symbol on your chest, that weighs on you, and it represents a boulder of expectations.
“Unlike other clubs, we do not have a well-drilled squad. We have to learn together during games, with players who still need to raise the bar, but don’t have the time to get there. So we have to gain experience by playing.
“I keep hearing people say that Napoli had a great transfer session, but we signed a lot of players, that is not the same as having a great transfer market.”
NAPLES, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 22: Antonio Conte SSC Napoli head coach during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Pisa SC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on September 22, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Nonetheless, this means Conte’s Napoli are the only team with a 100 per cent record in Serie A after four rounds, going two points clear of Juventus at the top of the table.
Some fatigue was perhaps inevitable after the draining 2-0 Champions League defeat to Manchester City, as they played with 10 men for over an hour.
The Partenopei were not in Europe last season, so are not accustomed to having two big games per week.
“As I said earlier, experience can only be learned on the job. This will be the most complicated season, because we intervened on the market to bring in nine new players, with big expectations, and this means we need patience, to accept occasional errors,” continued Conte.
“Other clubs are systematically in Europe and therefore used to this, we are not, and inevitably playing every three or four days brings physical and mental stress that some of these players aren’t accustomed to.”
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of Napoli, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester City and SSC Napoli at City of Manchester Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
After beating Napoli, Manchester City played a surprisingly defensive game in the Premier League, clawed back in stoppages by Arsenal for a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
It came after Pep Guardiola praised the Partenopei for their ability to defend as a team for long periods.
“There are various phases in a match, you must press high, in a medium block, and also when building out from the back. Before Giovanni’s red card, you could see the plan that we had, but inevitably after the dismissal we had to defend and hope to bring something home,” added Conte.
“I see more or less everyone is starting to realise that there are times when you have to defend. Manchester City no longer have the kind of dominant possession that they used to, because everyone presses high, are aggressive, and don’t just wait to counter. Even a coach like Guardiola wanted to bring the result home yesterday and knew when he had to defend.”
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