Antonio Conte tough on Luciano Spalletti: controversy re-explodes between Napoli and Juventus

The triple whistle that sanctioned the end of Juventus-Napoli came forty-eight hours ago but the controversy between the representatives of the two clubs shows no sign of ending. Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the last day of the Champions League maxi round, Antonio Conte in fact gave a peremptory answer to a question regarding the expression used by Luciano Spalletti after Sunday’s match, in which he had said he was satisfied with beating “the former champions of Italy“

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“Did he really say that? It was not a happy phrase, on the contrary – Conte said -. We still have the Scudetto sewn on the jersey and you have to show respect. I would never have allowed myself to say such a thing talking about another team. I hear this now and I am sorry, because Luciano is a good coach but he has to be a little more careful when he talks. You can&#8217t say ex-champions, there are sixteen games to go: if he then sees us so bad that he takes the Scudetto away from us… We have done so much to sew it, we need more respect”.

Making the climate between the two clubs even more incandescent were also the refereeing discussions that arose after Sunday’s challenge. Indeed, Napoli had complained about an alleged contact in the box on Hojlund when the score was on 1-0, an episode assessed as regular by both the referee and VAR. The debate turned into a continuous back-and-forth with moviole, enlarged frames and analysis flooding the net. In this already tense context, Conte’s response to Spalletti’s words added further fuel to the fire.

In this far from serene climate, Napoli must nonetheless think about Wednesday night’s match against Chelsea, which will effectively decide the Azzurri’s European destiny. Conte’s men absolutely must win if they are to avoid prematurely ending a European season so far with very few highlights.

Juventus, by the way, also has a lot at stake on the last day of the single round of the first phase: although certain of qualification for the playoffs, the Bianconeri team can still aspire to direct access to the round of 16, but they will have to beat Monaco at Louis II and hope for a combination of favorable results on the other fields.