Napoli missed the chance to extend their lead over Inter Milan at the top of Serie ‘A’ to six points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Udinese on Sunday.
Napoli’s head coach, Antonio Conte, noted that his team gave everything they had as they extended their unbeaten run to nine games.
The manager lamented missed opportunities, particularly in the first half when his side controlled the match and created numerous chances but failed to convert them.
“It is a pity, because I think we deserved more than a point from the match
“The second half petered out slowly, but in the first half, we created a lot of chances, we controlled the game, but if you don’t convert those opportunities, then it will cause problems,” Conte told reporters.
“The lads left the field drained tonight, they gave everything to get the victory. It was our ninth game unbeaten, so trust me from the heart when I say this is extraordinary,” he added.
Scott McTominay’s superb header opened the scoring for Napoli, but his effort was cancelled out by Jurgen Ekkelenkamp’s swerving strike from outside the area, and Conte pointed to Udinese’s physicality and skill.
“Udinese are a very physical team with some real quality players who I believe will soon move to big clubs.
“We did what we always do, press high, but they had players like Lorenzo Lucca who dominate in the air and are always a threat.
With their second successive stalemate, following a 1-1 draw at AS Roma last week, Napoli missed the chance to move six points clear at the top of Serie A.
However, they have 55 points, four clear of Inter Milan, who host Fiorentina on Monday, while third-placed Atalanta, who thrashed Verona 5-0 on Saturday, are on 50.
“I can’t ask the boys to do any more than that, otherwise we risk the machine going off the rails and the engine breaking down.
“If someone is disappointed with two draws, it is not my problem,” the coach told a news conference.
