Napoli head coach Antonio Conte questioned his team’s hunger and mentality after they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Bologna on Sunday.

Thijs Dallinga and Jhon Lucumi found the net in the second half at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara to send Napoli down to third in the Serie A standings.

Conte’s side, whose attack has come under much scrutiny lately, produced a flat performance as they failed to score for the third consecutive game in all competitions, falling to their third league defeat of the season and fifth in all competitions.

This is now the first time Napoli have failed to score in three consecutive matches since a run of four in all competitions between December 2023 and January 2024.

In fact, the Partenopei ended a Serie A match with fewer than five total shots on Sunday for the first time since February 2021 against Atalanta (also four).

Reflecting on the defeat, Conte was ruthless in his assessment.

“I am worried, I cannot deny it,” the Napoli boss confessed to DAZN Italia. “If a team that is meant to be a protagonist loses five games in all competitions by now, then something is going wrong.

“We must never forget that last time Napoli won the Scudetto, they collapsed the next season. People seem to believe the ugly duckling can become a swan from one day to the next.

“The energy has certainly changed here, I don’t feel the positive energy we had last season. The lads know full well I’ve been saying this for a while, it saddens me that I have been unable to change this energy in the last four months.

“It means either I am not doing a good job, or that someone doesn’t want to listen to me.”

Conte went on to question whether his players still have the same drive and determination that powered last season’s dominant Scuedetto triumph.

“As I said, what we did last season was absolutely extraordinary," he added.  

“This is a different year, we are working, but in my view we have to ask ourselves if we are working with the same enthusiasm and desire that we had last year, when we wanted to prove ourselves, or if we are resting on our laurels because people say we are favourites."

The Italian also praised Bologna’s intensity and desire, noting the contrast with his own side’s performance.

“Bologna were certainly more energetic in every way. What it’s sad to note is that they were hungrier, had more enthusiasm, that is the most disappointing thing that must make us reflect," he said.

“Don’t forget that Bologna played on Thursday, but they were so fired up. We did the bare minimum while the game was in the balance, then after that we just fell apart.

“It’s sad, because they had a totally different level of energy and we need a different energy to what I’ve been seeing since the start of the season.”