'He can't say that!' - Furious Antonie Conte bites back at Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti over brutal 'former champions' jab at Napoli

Jonathan David gave the Old Lady the lead during the first half, before Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic added their final two goals during the last 15 minutes at the Allianz Stadium. The result has left Napoli nine points behind Serie A leaders Inter.

After Juventus' triumph, Spalletti was asked to evaluate what he saw from Napoli. He replied: "From a professional standpoint, I'm looking for the three points, and they're all worth the same. Then, winning against the former Italian champions gives you even more confidence in knowing you're a strong team. It's a confidence boost for the team. Napoli is having difficulty making decisions right now, but the team they fielded consisted of 10 or 11 of their starting lineup. It depends on the current situation, but we did what we had to do. The game was almost always in the balance, it remained open for almost the entire team. A difficult match, deservedly won."

On Tuesday, Conte was asked for his thoughts on Spalletti's comments. The Napoli boss said: "I'd like to take a break after that game, especially when you have three in quick succession. I don't understand what he said. 'Former champions'? If he said something like that, it wasn't a great sentence, it was an unfortunate phrase.

"We still wear the Scudetto on our chest and that deserves respect. I would have never allowed myself to say something like that to another team. I'm sorry because Luciano Spalletti is a great coach, but he has to be a little more careful when he speaks.

“He can't say that, there are still 16 games left - he's already taken the Scudetto off us! I'm sorry because we've done so much to earn it and we deserve respect. Good luck to him."

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Conte knows he will have to beat former club Chelsea if Napoli are to stand a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League. They head into matchday eighth in 25th, one point outside the play-off spots. They missed a huge opportunity to strengthen their hopes of a top-24 finish last week having only managed a 1-1 draw at 10-man Copenhagen.

"We could have fixed the situation against Copenhagen but weren't good enough," Conte said. "Now it's Chelsea, the club world champions. I know them very well, the vision they have, the investments they make, the ambition they have. We will have to try and give everything and also rely on our strong ally - the Stadio Maradona, and we can't underestimate that. 

"The fans know that the result will have to be decisive. We know what it's like to play with the support of our fans behind us. It would be nice to see a blue wave pushing us on."

This will be the first time that Conte will be in the dugout to face his ex-employers in Chelsea since August 2022, when his Tottenham side earned a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. That day is best remembered for his post-match handshake with Thomas Tuchel, with the ex-Blues boss refusing to let go after claiming the Italian didn't look him in the eyes.