Antonio Conte Tempo quickly tempered Napoli's Scudetto expectations, despite the fact that they had received their Serie A title defense for a winning start against Sassuolo.
Conte looked up as goals in both half of Scott McTominay and the summer signing of Kevin De Bruyne sealed a 2-0 win for Napoli in Mapei Stadium on Saturday.
Napoli saw the result expand their unbeaten line to 13 games (W8 D5), the longest run on the top five European competitions.
Only between April and November 2022 under Luciano Spalletti, Napoli went on a rack for longer without defeat, 19 games without loss in the Serie A.
Conte suggested that it would be difficult for his team to replicate their titles success from last year while Napoli is preparing for European obligations with competition action.
“It will be a very difficult and interesting campaign with seven or eight teams fighting for the qualification of Scudetto of Champions League,” Conte told reporters.
“We try to complete the structure of the team, and it will require patience.”
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Conte added that he was still waiting to find the right balance in midfield, after he started with McTominay, De Bruyne, Stanislav Lobotka and Frank Anguisa against Sassuolo.
McTominay, who scooped the MVP prize in 2024-25 after a number of brilliant displays, opened his account with an near-post header in the 17th minute of the game.
He has now scored 10 goals in Serie A in 2025, level with Bryan Mbeumo from Manchester United for the most of a midfielder in Europe's top five competitions.
And in 34 years and 56 days old, De Bruyne became the oldest player who scored on his debut for Napoli in the Serie A in the era of three points-for-a-win (since 1994-95).
The Belgian was also the third midfielder who scored on his Napoli debut in the top flight since 1994-95, after Jonathan de Guzman in 2014 and Francesco Moriero 25 years ago.
“I still try to find the right formula to ensure that the three midfielders of last season can exist harmoniously with Kevin,” Conte added.
“We didn't work on it for long, but I see some interesting things.
Conte, however, showered special praise for McTominay and De Bruyne, in which the 56-year-old believed that their different playing styles complement each other.
“Scott is a hunter who can get deep from deep and can be devastating, while he also has a good shot from a distance,” said Conte.
“The opening goal was a situation that we had tried in the training.
“De Bruyne has different characteristics, he likes to move around and rarely walks in the box. We try to ensure that all zones are treated.”