Scott McTominay headed Napoli level on points with Inter Milan at the top of Serie A with the only goal in Saturday’s 1–0 win at Monza, but coach Antonio Conte lashed out at owner Aurelio De Laurentiis with angry post-match comments.
The Scotland midfielder nodded home his 10th goal in all competitions this season from Giacomo Raspadori’s cross in the 72nd minute, saving Napoli’s blushes after a drab display in northern Italy.
McTominay’s third goal in a week boosted Napoli’s bid for a second league title in three seasons and piled pressure on reigning champions Inter.
Beyond that goal, Conte’s team created little against the division’s worst team. Monza are 12 points from safety with five matches remaining and appear set for relegation.
“It’s a match that seems like it should be easy, but the prize up for grabs is so important that there is a lot of pressure,” said Conte.
“A lot of these boys are in a head-to-head (for a league title) for the first time. And it’s an unexpected head-to-head… Just to be there is unexpected and extraordinary.”
Conte continued to fuel rumours of his departure at the end of his first season as Napoli coach, after raising eyebrows on Friday with open frustration over the January sale of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
‘Not stupid’
De Laurentiis later remarked that Conte should have waited until the end of the season before making such comments, prompting a visibly irritated Conte to respond while speaking to broadcaster DAZN.
“You have to live in the present… the people want to win and are ambitious. I’m open to everything, but we need to see where we are,” said Conte, when asked about his future.
“I’m happy in Naples and I’m working for fans who give me something emotionally. That’s very important. But you know that whoever hires me knows I bring with me expectations.
“People hire me and think, ‘You have to finish first or second, even if you finished 10th the year before, and you have to fight for the title. Qualifying for Europe isn’t enough’.
“I can handle all of that, but I’m not stupid if there aren’t the resources in place to achieve that.”
Conte also criticised the pitches at Napoli’s Castel Volturno training ground, saying they were supposed to be relaid. He suggested the club’s failure to do so was behind recent calf injuries – the latest affecting Kvaratskhelia’s replacement, David Neres.
Regardless of where Conte is next season, he and Napoli have a strong chance to win the Scudetto. After Easter, they face only one team in the top half of the table – 10th-placed Torino – and have no other commitments.
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