Conte says Napoli 'fearful' in Udinese shock loss
Antonio Conte conceded Napoli was "too worried and too fearful" during its surprise loss to Udinese, insisting his side must use its experience to successfully manage difficult moments in matches.
Noa Lang squandered a golden opportunity early on at Bluenergy Stadium as Napoli turned in a below-par performance, with Jurgen Ekkelenkamp's long-range strike enough for Udinese to take all three points.
Keinan Davis and Nicolo Zaniolo saw goals ruled out after VAR reviews, while Jakub Piotrowski struck the crossbar in the second half.
Rasmus Hojlund also missed a golden chance to rescue a point late on, though Conte said he could not be too critical of his players' efforts amidst an ongoing injury crisis.
"They had two disallowed goals and [hit the] crossbar at the start of the second half," the Napoli manager said. "We were too worried and too fearful, we needed to work hard. We have to play well, even in the difficult moments. We have to manage situations, and we definitely have to improve.
"We have to be better at managing these moments, we have to tackle them with experience. We can't lose courage or become overwhelmed. If you play like that, you run the risk of conceding, and we conceded.
"I have nothing negative to say about the guys who are giving their all in this emergency. We have to be better at managing games and bringing out more character away from home.
"On a psychological level, we try to work on it and find the right way. We can grow, we have great guys here."
The loss means Napoli has been beaten in four of its first eight away matches in a Serie A season for the first time since 2009-2010.
It also marked its first league game without a single shot on target since facing Lazio in January 2024.
Conte also highlighted the impact of injuries on his squad, with Kevin De Bruyne, Stanislav Lobotka, Frank Anguissa, Billy Gilmour, Romelu Lukaku and Alex Meret among those who have been sidelined this season.
"At the beginning of the season, when you're playing in a lot of competitions, you worry about building a squad that is up to scratch," he said. "[What can you do] when the squad is weakened because of external factors?
"This year won't be easy for us. The important thing is to be united and compact, facing challenges while sticking together. We want to work and fight. We've lost seven away games, we have to improve that."
