Conte hails ‘atypical’ Lukaku and wants Napoli to ‘get hands dirty’

Antonio Conte explains why ‘atypical’ Romelu Lukaku is so perfect for his football and how he is teaching Napoli to ‘get their hands dirty’ after a 4-0 victory in Cagliari.

They emerged from the Unipol Domus with a massive 4-0 result thanks to Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s deflected effort, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lukaku and Alessandro Buongiorno.

“Cagliari is a very difficult place to play, the pitch was very dry, it was extremely windy and so you had to calculate the flight of the ball,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

“We started well, the interruption for the fireworks and objects thrown stalled our momentum, then we saw in the second half what we should’ve done better. We need to keep improving on the duels all over the field, keeping focused and concentrated, because that is what you require in Serie A.”

It was Lukaku’s first start and another encouraging sign is that the Belgian and Georgian assisted each other’s goals.

Conte and Lukaku a match made in heaven

The former Chelsea striker has always played at his best with Conte, so why is he so perfectly suited to this vision of the sport?

“I have always said that I wanted Romelu at Inter, had also requested him at Chelsea before he went to Manchester United, because he is an atypical striker. He is extremely tall and physically strong, but also very good at sprinting forward. His condition is still nowhere near optimal, but he becomes fundamental for us. He’s putting in the effort and I never doubted that.

“I hope that Kvara realises we expect many more goals from him as well as assists. Although this game wasn’t entirely suited to his characteristics, I saw a lot of effort from him and Matteo Politano.”

The fears from that opening defeat to Verona seem to be a distant memory, as the Partenopei have won three Serie A games in a row for the first time since February 2023. How has Conte managed to transform this squad from that embarrassing display?

“This is a team in my view that over the years didn’t like to get its hands dirty. After what happened last season, the switch was more about mentality than organisation and tactics. We did better in the pressing today and that led to one of the goals, so it is improving, but it is not easy to build that kind of mentality.

“I denounced certain things after that first game and knew that the players were good lads, they understood and are working on their determination, grit and ferocity, which we saw in the way we fought and suffered today to keep a clean sheet. There is certainly improvement.”

Napoli are just getting started, because Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour made their debuts in the final 20 minutes, while David Neres has provided an assist in each of his three substitute appearances.

After three rounds in Serie A, already nobody had a 100 per cent record, so the race to the top is extremely tight right now.

However, Conte is eager to shrug off any suggestion they are going for the Scudetto in his debut season at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

“I do feel that at the moment all teams are settling down still, as the transfer window closed late and we are all trying to find our shape,” concluded the coach.

“We’ve worked hard over the last two and a half months, we’ve got to put on the blinkers and keep pushing forward without looking at anyone else.”