Napoli boss Antonio Conte wonders if his side is cursed after Kevin De Bruyne joined a long injury list during their 3-1 victory over Inter, a team he considers the best in Serie A.
Napoli manager Antonio Conte has been left questioning whether his team is under a “curse” following a severe and escalating injury crisis, despite securing a vital 3-1 victory over title rivals Inter that sent them back to the top of the Serie A table.
The latest and perhaps most alarming casualty came on Saturday when key player Kevin De Bruyne suffered an injury while converting a penalty against Inter.
De Bruyne was seen leaving the pitch in tears, adding to a rapidly lengthening injury list that already included several first-team regulars.
Ahead of the Inter match, Napoli was already severely depleted, missing Stanislav Lobotka, Amir Rrahmani, Rasmus Hojlund, and goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Furthermore, star striker Romelu Lukaku has been a long-term absentee since pre-season. The sheer volume of injuries prompted an exasperated response from Conte, who spoke to DAZN after the victory, as quoted by Football Italia.
Conte acknowledged the immense difficulties his team overcame: “To have won this game, with all the difficulties that we had, missing players like Lobotka, Rrahmani, Meret and Hojlund, then losing De Bruyne, with Lukaku out since pre-season.”
Reflecting on the almost comical bad luck, he suggested a supernatural explanation, stating: “Perhaps someone has cursed us, but we keep going anyway.”
Conte highlighted the significance of the win, noting that Inter arrived aiming to “’kill’ us” on a sporting level, but asserted, “we had no intention of dying.” He concluded by praising the resilient effort: “In among all those problems, we put in a great performance.”
Despite his victory, Conte also maintained that Inter remains, in his view, the best squad in Italy on paper.