Conte: ‘A draw is a half-defeat’, but Napoli have ‘zero problems’ in Serie A title fight

epa11898868 Napoli’s head coach Antonio Conte during the Serie A soccer match between SS Lazio and SSC Napoli at the Olimpico stadium in Rome, Italy, 15 February 2025. EPA-EFE/Riccardo Antimiani

Antonio Conte is still pleased with his team’s performance in their recent 1-1 draw with Serie A leaders Inter but insists that draws feel like a ‘half-defeat’ for Napoli, and has also given his thoughts ahead of another difficult challenge against Fiorentina on Sunday. 

Inter are currently in second place in the Serie A table, one point shy of Inter at the top following the 1-1 draw between the two sides last fine settimana. 

The Partenopei had been on an underwhelming run of form over the month of February, recording three draws and a loss in those weeks, before the Inter draw last Saturday. 

Conte on Napoli 1-1 Inter: ‘A draw is a half-defeat’ 

Napoli looked a vastly improved side against Inter compared to some of their recent outings, but Conte insists that he didn’t need to change too much in his approach. 

“We continue to train in the same way, with the same desire, nothing changes based on words. You have to do the deeds. We always try to give our best, nothing has changed and I don’t know if anything had to change,” Conte said during his pre-match press conference on Saturday. 

“Ambition is the product of hard work, we have to be ambitious if we’re working hard. The fact that we played an excellent game against Inter, the team to beat, made us happy. If we compare the two games, they were completely different despite both being draws.” 

Delving further into his analysis of the Napoli-Inter game, Conte explained that draws feel like ‘half-defeats’. 

“I’ve always said that the goal is to make our fans proud. It’s nice to put in big performances like against Inter, even if we drew and didn’t win in the end. So for those who are winners and always think about winning, even a draw is slightly disappointing, even if it was against Inter. 

“But a draw, for me, is always a half-defeat. We have to look for the three points every game. Often we’ve succeeded, other times, like in the last month, we’ve struggled a bit more, but that’s part of any season and we have to work, recover and try to make good choices, as we are doing, gritting our teeth. 

“There are zero worries, zero anxieties, zero problems.” 

Conte provides Fiorentina assessment 

Conte later moved on to Napoli’s upcoming opponents, Fiorentina, explaining why the Tuscans will provide another tough test for his side. 

“Fiorentina are strong, they had an excellent transfer window in January. Not long ago they beat Inter 3-0 and made it 2-1 away from home. They will give us a hard time, we will have to be ready knowing that it won’t be a stroll in the park. 

“We will have to leave everything we have out on the pitch, making the most out of everything in terms of the squad and our choices to get over any obstacles.”