MILAN: Napoli manager Antonio Conte praised the impact of Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku, both in their first season at the club, after their 2-0 Serie A win over Hellas Verona on Sunday.

Napoli broke the deadlock early on when Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s shot hit the post and rebounded off goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo, while Frank Anguissa sealed the victory with a powerful long-range shot.

Conte said he is still trying to find the right tactics to suit his squad, even as they secured a fifth successive league win, but that the new signings were integral in helping Napoli lead the standings by four points ahead of Inter Milan.

“There have certainly been changes since the beginning of the summer, especially as I am still trying to find the right tactics for this team,” Conte told DAZN.

“The arrival of McTominay and Lukaku, in particular, made a big difference to the switch to 4-3-3. We tried a couple of different formations before we settled on this one.”

After revealing that forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia wanted to leave the Serie A club, Conte said he bore no ill will toward the Georgian and that he was more disappointed with himself.

Meanwhile, Matteo Darmian shot injury-hit Inter to victory at Venezia with the only goal of the game in the 16th minute.

Earlier, Genoa continued their revival under Patrick Vieira with a 1-0 win over Parma. Genoa are up to 11th on 23 points, a point behind AS Roma who snatched a last-gasp 2-2draw.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2025

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