Conte: “We don’t underestimate Benfica, nor are we ignorant or presumptuous.”

Antonio Conte, Napoli’s coach, speaking to reporters after the defeat against Benfica at the Estádio da Luz:

“The players gave everything they had tonight. There was definitely a difference in physical and mental energy between us and Benfica, who played on Friday and we played three days ago.”

We had games every three days and players who accumulated game after game. It’s inevitable that, sooner or later, this will take its toll. There’s nothing to be done, and you can’t say we didn’t try until the end.

Surely, we would have had difficulties today. We are few in number, and that’s a problem. We have seven injured players. It’s nothing new, but what worries me less is the fact that these lads are giving their all. (…) We played with great generosity, but we lacked clarity in some plays and situations that need to be interpreted more carefully. We have to accept the result and try to recover as quickly as possible.

“Benfica had five shots and we had two, but I think we had more possession. Benfica didn’t surprise us and we didn’t underestimate them. We played with the same team that started against Juventus and in other games. We’re not ignorant, much less presumptuous. We’ve always said that Benfica is a great team, with excellent players.”