'Extraordinary' Napoli fills Conte with pride
Antonio Conte could not contain his joy after watching his Napoli side deliver a 2-1 victory over Juventus, a performance he described as "extraordinary".
Rasmus Hojlund proved the match-winner with a decisive brace, scoring in each half to send Napoli one point clear of Inter at the top of Serie A.
Napoli got off to a dream start at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as Hojlund slid David Neres's low centre into the net, but Kenan Yildiz restored parity just before the hour mark.
The host dug deep and its persistence was rewarded 12 minutes from time, with Hojlund rising highest to plant a header beyond the grasp of Michele Di Gregorio.
Indeed, Napoli is just the second team to win seven consecutive home games against Juventus in Serie A, after Inter (eight between 1935 and 1943).
Conte was full of gratitude when asked to put Napoli's display into words.
"The players deserve all the compliments," he said. "We can only thank them as, in a moment of extreme difficulty and with so few available, we are doing incredible things.
"Everyone who plays steps up with a great character and sense of responsibility.
"These lads have improved so much, and it fills me with pride, because they felt what we are doing, understood the difficulty of the moment, and gave remarkable responses.
"In the difficulties, we are finding solutions, and I want to give credit to my staff and the players. You can feel the right spirit, unity and desire to stick together in this tough moment.
"We've got to find the right path and stick to it. I can only say thank you, thank you, thank you again to these lads."
The victory means that Napoli remains unbeaten at home in Serie A for the entire calendar year for the first time since 1987 (W13 D4).
Indeed, the Partenopei are the only side (excluding newly promoted teams) to also not to lose a home game in the top five European leagues in 2025.
"Every game has different phases, and if we can press high, then we have to do it, as we avoid sitting deep and losing our reference points," Conte said.
"I believe that defending by pushing forward ultimately avoids risks, as there were only two shots on target today from Juve.
"We had great energy and tactical rigour, but also some impressive moves that we prepared on the training ground."
Conte did, however, acknowledge the quality of opponents his side has faced in the league thus far, adding.
"We played Atalanta, Roma and Juventus, all very strong opponents, in an emergency situation and won them all," the Italian said.
"I remain stunned by the enthusiasm and energy the lads are putting into the game.
"Now we've got to rest, as we have two days and then we're in Portugal against Benfica in the Champions League.
"We've got to try to prepare it as best we can in front of the whiteboard, because these lads need a break physically to recover."
