Conte praises Juve character

Juventus coach Antonio Conte lauded his team’s character after they fought back to earn a 3-3 draw with Napoli in Serie A on Tuesday.

The league leaders preserved their unbeaten record in the league with goals from Marcelo Estigarribia and Simone Pepe seeing them snatch a point from 2-0 and 3-1 down at Stadio San Paolo.

Conte was proud of his team for picking up a draw and moving two points clear of AC Milan at the top.

“There were some very strong responses in terms of character. Aside from the head, legs and tactics, without heart you cannot fight back and put a game like this back on track,” Conte said.

“It was a very difficult start and Napoli immediately played at a high tempo, but we seemed almost as if we were waiting for them to tire themselves out.”

“There were a few distractions and we went 2-0 down, so that result, that performance, and this atmosphere at the San Paolo would’ve broken any other team.”

“This is why I am so proud that my team showed such humility, passion and belief to fight back. Quite aside from their technical gifts, I am very happy to see this inner strength from the squad. I am proud to coach these lads.”

Napoli striker Goran Pandev hit a brace, with the second of his pair – in the 68th minute – putting the hosts 3-1 up and seemingly headed for a victory.

Coach Walter Mazzarri, whose team were playing their third game in a week, said he thought the Macedonian’s volley had won the game for his side.

“At 3-1 with Goran Pandev’s goal, I honestly thought we had won it, even if we were struggling in terms of stamina,” he said.

“Big teams with more experienced players like (Juventus midfielder) Andrea Pirlo know how to slow the tempo and cool things down. We’ve still got to learn how to do that.”

“It’s a shame, as we conceded the third goal with four players around Simone Pepe and he got a lucky deflection off one of ours. I really thought we’d won it.”