Antonio Conte: 'Top-class' Chelsea player made Napoli pay for mistakes
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Napoli head coach Antonio Conte admitted that "top-class" Chelsea striker Joao Pedro made them pay for their mistakes in the 3-2 defeat in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Initially, Napoli caused a lot of problems for Chelsea, especially in the first half.
After Chelsea took an early lead through Enzo Fernandez's penalty goal, the hosts pounced back with two goals in quick succession and held the lead at half-time.
The visitors, however, had plenty of difference makers on the bench that Liam Rosenor could deploy, and he did.
Among the Chelsea substitutes in the second half was Cole Palmer, and his ability to find space with his passes proved decisive.
That said, it was Joao Pedro who delivered the final blows, and Conte could not hide his admiration for the Brazil international.
"They didn't have that many chances," the Italian insisted in his post-match press conference.
"We also played some good football, and this is the way forward because football is evolving and changing. We need to adapt.
"We're disappointed because we would have liked to continue competing in this tournament, and we did very well against Chelsea today.
"In the end, we paid for their great quality in midfield. Buongiorno's mistake? We have to accept that mistakes can be made.
"Joao Pedro punished us severely; he is a top-class player. It's a shame because we did ourselves proud by playing a Champions League-level game."
Unfortunately for Conte and Napoli, the result puts an end to their campaign in the Champions League.
Chelsea, on the other hand, secured a sixth-place finish in the league phase of the competition thanks to this win, which guarantees them a spot in the round of 16.
The Blues will face either Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, AS Monaco, or Qarabag in their first match in the knock-out stages.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.