Napoli Resilience Praised By Conte After Injury Crisisnewsline24

-myKhel Team

Napoli strengthened their Serie A position with a 2-1 win over Torino, a result Antonio Conte described as a major response to recent injuries. The champions now sit third, have built a gap in the top-four race, and collected rare back-to-back league victories in 2026.

The match at home also marked an important moment for the squad’s structure. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku were both on the pitch together for the first time since their respective injury and fitness problems, giving Conte fresh attacking options for the final stretch.

Conte’s side have struggled for rhythm in recent weeks, yet the Torino success followed a league win in their previous outing. Napoli have now earned consecutive Serie A victories for only the second time in 2026, after their winning run against Fiorentina and Genoa between late January and early February.

The league table now reflects that recovery. Napoli remain third in Serie A, just one point behind second-place AC Milan. More importantly for their title defence, they hold a six-point cushion over the chasing clubs in the battle for Champions League spots before the remaining fixtures of the weekend.

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The scoring pattern against Torino again highlighted the depth in Conte’s squad. Alisson Santos struck in the seventh minute, delivering Napoli’s fifth-fastest Serie A goal this season. Substitute Eljif Elmas then added the second, which turned out to be the decisive goal in the 2-1 victory.

Elmas’ contribution carried extra weight because of the long wait since the previous league strike. The midfielder had not scored a Serie A goal for Napoli for 832 days, last netting in November 2023 away against Atalanta, while this effort was the first league goal at home since February 2023.

Very, very satisfied, Conte told DAZN. The way they’ve returned, it seems like they never left, but they really have. We’ve been without him [De Bruyne] for many months, even without Lukaku, but the strength of this team has been in never looking for excuses for absence. We never lose our spirit, our desire, and our determination. In times of great emergency, there has always been a great response. That’s how we won a Supercoppa Italiana and have always remained at the top of the table. It wasn’t at all a given.

Conte also pointed to Alisson’s early impact in Naples. The forward became only the fifth player to score in each of the first two Serie A home matches for Napoli in the three-points-for-win era, which began in the 1994-95 season, underlining how quickly Alisson has adapted.

Alisson is getting into the swing of things, but he can’t be shy, just like he did, Conte added. Sometimes he has to try harder: I don’t get angry if he makes a mistake, I get angry if he does the simple thing. And let’s not forget Sant’Elmas, we need to build a statue of him. He understands football, he’s versatile, he plays everywhere, he’s making his eighteenth consecutive start.

Conte’s remarks showed how Napoli’s response to injuries and pressure has maintained the club near the top of Serie A. With De Bruyne and Lukaku regaining sharpness, and players like Alisson and Elmas contributing key goals, Napoli carry momentum into the next phase of their title defence and top-four campaign.

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