Conte defends decision to rest regular starters in Napoli’s Coppa Italia loss to Lazio

Conte defends decision to rest regular starters in Napoli’s Coppa Italia loss to Lazio

Antonio Conte defended his decision to field a significantly altered starting lineup for Napoli’s 1-3 Coppa Italia round of 16 loss to Lazio, stating that the fixture offered an opportune moment to evaluate his squad and mitigate injuries.

The Italian tactician opted to rest his starting lineup after its narrow 1-0 Serie A win over Torino on Sunday. However, this decision backfired as the league leader was stunned by Lazio, which secured a 3-0 victory thanks to a hat-trick from Tijjani Noslin. The defeat eliminated Napoli from the Italian Cup.

“We made a very well-considered choice … We have a long season ahead of us. We can’t make the sign of the cross and hope that no one gets injured,” Conte told reporters in Rome.

“These are matches where we wanted to make assessments. After this match you will make your assessments, I will make mine, and the club will make its assessments … Evaluations are subjective, and mine are the most important.”

Napoli, which is currently top of the Serie A 2024-25 table with 32 points from 14 matches, is four points ahead of fifth-placed Lazio, whom it play again in the league on Sunday.

The former Italy manager is warry about the Lazio challenge, especially after the rude awakening on Thursday.

“It will definitely be a different game, we’ll be playing at home and in a different competition,” Conte said.

“Lazio is definitely a very good team and also equipped to play in the Europa League. They have a valuable squad as demonstrated again today. We will try to play our game.”