Conte praises Napoli's ability at 'dealing with difficulties' after winning Atalanta thriller

Antonio Conte hailed the growth of Napoli and their ability at "dealing with difficulties" following Saturday's dramatic win over Atalanta.

The Partenopei moved six points clear of second-place Inter, who have two games in hand, at the Serie A summit, after edging out their fellow Scudetto contenders 3-2 at Gewiss Stadium.

Napoli cancelled out Mateo Retegui's earlier effort with goals from Mateo Politano and Scott McTominay putting them 2-1 up at half-time.

Ademola Lookman dragged the hosts level in the 55th minute, but the visitors snatched all three points when Lukaku headed in Frank Anguissa's cross 12 minutes from time.

Playing their first match since the departure of star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli avenged the 3-0 defeat they suffered against Atalanta in November's reverse fixture.

And after overseeing a sixth straight victory, Conte saluted the character of his players.

Full time: #AtalantaNapoli 2-3 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/N1IeC8TKRL

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) January 18, 2025

"I had already said before the match that this team has grown a lot," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "Don't forget that, just over two months ago, Atalanta put three goals past us at home.

"I think if we'd had even more time to go through the process, we'd have done even better. The team has, above all, grown in dealing with difficulties. That is what I want to underline.

"We are facing some situations both in terms of injuries and, most recently, the transfer market, situations that would kill a bull, but we are still standing.

"We don't complain, we keep working, and I always say that I have a group of players who are eager to work hard. The improvement of each individual player then allows us to improve collectively, too."

Meanwhile, Atalanta are now without a win in five matches across all competitions.

However, coach Gian Piero Gasperini remained optimistic and says his side's busy schedule will prevent their heads from dropping.

"I maintain we emerge stronger from games like this," he told Sky Sports Italia. "We now have the Champions League, then Serie A and the Coppa Italia.

"We are playing every three days, so we do not have time for regrets over a result that didn't go our way.

"It's fine, we have to focus on our journey and, perhaps today, we paid a heavy price. In other games, we were luckier, but overall, I saw a great performance."