Conte insists Napoli´s title hopes are still alive despite Parma draw

Napoli head coach Antonio Conte is adamant his side still have a chance of retaining their Serie A title, despite only mustering a 1-1 draw with Parma.

Parma took the lead after just 33 seconds as Gabriel Strefezza found the net via the far post after he had latched onto a glancing header from Nesta Elphege, with Napoli conceding their fastest goal since January 2018.

Nevertheless, they equalised in the 60th minute as Rasmus Hojlund teed up Scott McTominay to score with a well-struck effort.

The Scot has now scored in three consecutive away league games for the first time, while he also became the first midfielder to score 20 goals in each of the last two seasons of the top five European leagues.

Despite having 20 shots in total, Conte’s men were unable to find a winner and now sit six points behind Inter after 32 matches, having played a game more.

Nevertheless, the Italian is not yet ready to concede the title and still holds a faint belief that Napoli can usurp the league leaders by the end of the season.

He told DAZN Sport: “The dream is not extinguished, there are six games left, and Inter still have to play.

“It’s a bold dream, seeing Inter’s numbers so far, and it’s linked to those in front of us.

“We continue to do what we are doing, we come from five wins, and we drew on a difficult field. It’s a shame, because we could have put 2 more points.”

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While Conte bemoaned Parma’s early goal, he could not fault his side’s attitude, even as their five-match winning streak came to an end.

He added: “We knew we would find a team with a very low block, the approach had to be different, we had to be more careful.

“If you concede that goal after 30 seconds, the game is uphill. We shouldn’t have allowed Parma to take the lead.

“[But] the boys gave it their all, I have little to reproach in terms of desire, commitment and determination.”