Azzurri triumph at the U-Power Stadium
Napoli secured a hard-fought victory away to Monza after a very intense encounter on Saturday evening. The winning goal came in the 72nd minute, as Scott McTominay headed home a Jack Raspadori cross. It was McTominay’s third goal in two games, following his brace against Empoli on Monday.
Antonio Conte shared his thoughts after the win:
“These are the kind of games that look easy on paper, but once you’re on the pitch, you really feel what’s at stake. I see it in the players. They’re feeling the pressure, but still giving everything.
“We’re part of a title race that nobody expected at the start of the season. We’re doing something extraordinary at a club and in a city that stir such deep emotions in me. Expectations and ambitions are growing and we’ll give everything we have to be right up there in the final stretch of the season.
“I had a game plan in mind with two deep-lying playmakers to start with, but we weren’t getting enough bodies in the box, so I switched to a second plan we’d also prepared, bringing on Frank Anguissa and later Raspadori. We managed to score and played much better in the second half.”
Scott McTominay, once again the match-winner, shared his feelings:
“I’m really pleased, especially because my goal broke the deadlock. It was crucial to get the win today. We fought from start to finish to take home the three points.
“We need to keep going like this, but if we want to stay in the race with Inter until the end, we have to keep growing and improving so we can finish the season at our best.”
Giovanni Di Lorenzo gave his take on the performance:
“We knew it would be a tough game and that’s exactly how it turned out. We did well to stay patient and eventually find the breakthrough. The team remained focused throughout, even as the minutes ticked by.
“Every match from here on will be difficult. We all need to give something extra if we want to keep winning and pushing forward.”
Leonardo Spinazzola spoke in the post-match press conference:
“We’re proud of the position we’ve reached and of keeping the title race alive. We did well today not to lose our heads as the minutes passed.
“Of course we’re feeling the pressure and it’s not easy to stay sharp throughout the whole match. In the first half we lacked a bit of spark, but in the second half we stayed calm and deservedly found the goal.”
Monza 0-1 Napoli (HT: 0-0)
Scorer: McTominay 72.
MONZA:
Turati; Pedro Pereira, Caldirola, Carboni, Birindelli (Ganvoula 75), Bianco (Urbanski 84), Akpa Akpro (Gagliardini 67), Kyriakopoulos, Castrovilli (Curria 84), Mota, Caprari.
Coach: Nesta.
NAPOLI:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Rafa Marin, Olivera (Raspadori 63), Gilmour (Anguissa 46), Lobotka, McTominay, Politano (Ngonge 85), Spinazzola, Lukaku (Simeone 78).
Coach: Conte.
Referee: La Penna.
Booked: Rafa Marin, Mota, Ngonge.
