Antonio Conte says Napoli not 'well-oiled' for Champions League & Serie A battle after narrow win against Pisa

Ever since kickstarting their season in late August, Napoli have played five games across the Serie A and the Champions League, and the only defeat has come against Manchester City in their continental opener last week. At such a juncture, after losing 2-0 to Pep Guardiola's side, Gli Azzuri regained their momentum with a 3-2 win over Pisa, a game where they conceded a late goal to project the scoreline as a narrow one. 

While they started the game against Pisa with a lead in the first half thanks to Billy Gilmour, the visitors equalised in the 60th minute through a spot kick. Conte's side scored two more goals in the 73rd and 82nd minutes through Leonardo Spinazzola and new signing Lorenzo Lucca, respectively. However, a late goal from Pisa's Lorran reduced the margin. 

Conte argued the display shows his team will struggle to compete for every title this season after claiming the Scudetto by a slim margin last term. 

"When I say calm and preach caution, I mean it for this reason: we, unlike others, don't have a well-oiled squad to play a season with various commitments like the Champions League, Coppa Italia, and Supercoppa," he said. "Players come from different backgrounds and have the Scudetto on their shirts: you play with high expectations. We, unlike others, have to work on the pitch to grow and level up, but sometimes you don't have time and experience is gained slowly. When I hear talk of a big transfer window, well, that's another story."

Conte has also claimed that Napoli will need time to adapt to such a hectic schedule, where they are playing in numerous competitions, as the players will undergo significant physical and mental stress, which they are not accustomed to. He said: "Other clubs are systematically in Europe and therefore used to this, we are not, and inevitably playing every three or four days brings physical and mental stress that some of these players aren’t accustomed to."

Napoli will resume action on September 28, when they face third-placed AC Milan in Serie A.