Napoli not used to 'physical and mental stress' of busy European season, warns Conte

Antonio Conte explained Napoli are "not accustomed" to the strain of playing in Europe after they held on for a late 3-2 Serie A win over Pisa on Monday.

Billy Gilmour's first goal for Napoli was cancelled out by M'Bala Nzola's penalty on the hour.

Leonardo Spinazzola and Lorenzo Lucca scored late on to seal the points for a below-par Napoli, who endured a nervy finish after Lorran's strike in the 90th minute.

The Partenopei, who lost 2-0 to Manchester City on their Champions League return last Thursday, only generated 1.0 expected goals (xG) compared to Pisa's 2.6.

However, Conte's side are now unbeaten in 16 league matches (W11 D5), the current longest streak across Europe's top-five leagues, with this their fifth consecutive victory in that run.

Despite a less-than-convincing win, Conte was delighted that his side pushed through to maintain their 100% start.

"It is never easy to win, and we played against a team I had warned my players about, because they are very physical, with a lot of intensity and changes of pace," Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

"This was a tough match, as if you leave spaces, they can do damage if the high press fails, and they get a head of steam.

"We are satisfied to have started with four wins, putting fuel in the tank for what will be a very balanced season.

"Experience can only be learned on the job. This will be the most complicated season, because we intervened on the market to bring in nine new players, with big expectations, and this means we need patience to accept occasional errors.

"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."

Lorenzo Lucca is the only Italian player born in 2000 or later to have scored more than 20 goals (21) in the last three seasons in Serie A.

He is one of nine players Napoli brought in during the transfer window to bolster their squad ahead of their Scudetto defence, and Conte insisted his team need time to build their relationships amid a busy season.

"I was happy because Lucca is working so hard. When I urge calm and prudence, I am not trying to protect myself, I am just warning that, unlike other clubs, we do not have a squad that is well-drilled and accustomed to playing in Serie A, the Champions League, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana," he added.

"We had to plump up the squad with players who arrived from totally different situations. When you have the Scudetto symbol on your chest, that weighs on you, and it represents a boulder of expectations.

"Unlike other clubs, we do not have a well-drilled squad. We have to learn together during games, with players who still need to raise the bar, but don't have the time to get there. So, we have to gain experience by playing.

"I keep hearing people say that Napoli had a great transfer session, but we signed a lot of players; that is not the same as having a great transfer market."