Antonio Conte urged Napoli to react fast after a damaging 2-0 home defeat against Lazio left the Serie A champions adrift in the title race and under pressure in the fight for Champions League qualification, describing the setback as a painful blow that must become a turning point for the squad.
The loss means Napoli stay 12 points behind Serie A leaders Inter with only five matches still to play, leaving defending the Scudetto virtually impossible according to Opta’s supercomputer, which now gives Conte’s side a 0.0% chance of retaining the league crown this season.
Conte also knows the focus must quickly switch from the fading title defence to securing a top‑four finish, as Napoli are not yet certain of a Champions League place and now prepare
for a key run featuring Friday’s clash with Cremonese and another important match against Como soon after.
Reflecting on the setback, Conte did not hide frustration at the performance or the situation, saying: "We have taken a kick to the teeth today, he said, as reported by Football Italia. Now, we restand, on Monday, we must make the most of this experience. If we don't, it would be serious. We need to understand why and put things right. "
Napoli dominated the ball but looked blunt throughout the contest, recording 67% possession and 12 attempts overall, yet failing to register a single effort on target and generating just 0.55 expected goals as Lazio sat deeper, absorbed pressure and picked better moments to attack in transition.
Lazio were far more efficient in the final third, finishing with 2.27 expected goals and seven shots on target as Matteo Cancellieri and Toma Basic both scored, while Mattia Zaccagni missed a penalty that could have widened the margin even further against a subdued Napoli side.
Conte highlighted how the midfield display summed up the wider issues in the match and accepted partial responsibility for not spotting problems sooner, stating: "This was not a good match from us, we put very little quality in midfield, added Conte.Lazio waited for us and hit on the counter. We had [almost] 70% possession and did not manage a single shot on target. We had studied the match, but we were not good enough. When this team lacks energy, quality drops. Perhaps, I was not good enough at sensing the malaise that developed. "
Key numbers from the Serie A meeting between Napoli and Lazio underlined Conte’s concerns about intensity and effectiveness in both boxes.
Full time#NapoliLazio 0-2 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/ZdLG2RKc8fOfficial SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) April 18, 2026
With title hopes effectively gone and pressure increasing around Champions League qualification, Napoli now enter the closing stretch of the Serie A season needing a stronger response in both performance and mentality, which Conte expects to see immediately against Cremonese and then in the potentially decisive meeting with Como.
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