Conte: Napoli need to focus on improvement, not Serie A lead

Napoli need not pay much attention to their place at the top of Serie A, according to Antonio Conte, who has demanded improvement from his side.

Romelu Lukaku's second-half goal gave Napoli a 1-0 win over Roma on Sunday.

That win sent Napoli back to the top of Serie A, with Conte's side one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio, while Juventus are just four points behind in a six-team title race.

Napoli needed to get back to winning ways after a draw against Inter and a 3-0 defeat to Atalanta before the international break, and Conte insists his team needs to tighten up.

“Before the match I told the boys not to look at the table, but to concentrate on ourselves and improve what we were working on,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

“I maintain that now, because we have to take a series of steps to raise the level.

“I was pleased with the performance today for more than 65 minutes. We could have taken more of our chances and faced a strong Roma with great players.

“Roma also made his debut under a new coach and therefore really wanted to prove himself. But we should have handled the last fifteen to twenty minutes better, because we were too deep and made things complicated for ourselves.”

Full-time: #NapoliRoma 1-0

#ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/1KKTSNX4mO

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) November 24, 2024

Roma, playing under new boss Claudio Ranieri, came close to an equalizer when Artem Dovbyk struck the woodwork with a header.

Ranieri came out of retirement to take charge of Roma following the sacking of Ivan Juric earlier in November, despite the visitors having just six shots and scoring just 0.6 expected goals (xG) at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

“Looking back, we have some problems and that's why I got the call. We were facing a team that is fighting to win the Scudetto,” Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.

“Having said all that, I am happy with the performance of my players. We made some mistakes which we will talk about this week, but the hunger and determination to get back on track was there.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but I feel positive.

“We know there is work to be done, we need to focus on responding rather than sitting there and feeling sorry for ourselves.

“The [players] need the right character to help themselves and then others. When I arrived, the team was obviously a bit closed, but I think we opened up a bit in the second half.”