Antonio Conte was left raging at the fixture schedule after his injury-hit Napoli side crashed out of the Champions League after a 3-2 home defeat by Chelsea.
The reigning Italian champions headed into the packed final matchday of the league phase knowing a victory was needed to potentially earn a play-off spot.
A first Napoli goal for Antonio Vergara and a Rasmus Hojlund effort gave Napoli a 2-1 half-time lead, after Enzo Fernandez had put Chelsea in front on the night via the penalty spot.
Conte’s side would come unstuck in the second half when Joao Pedro scoring twice for Chelsea to earn a 3-2 win and put Liam Rosenior‘s side directly through to the last-16.
Napoli, whose side includes former Premier League stars Scott McTominay, Hojlund and Romelu Lukaku, would ultimately finish 30th in the standings.
Having had 13 players absent for the match, Conte praised his Napoli’s side’s efforts against Chelsea before raging against the packed fixture schedule.
Antonio Conte bemoaned Napoli’s schedule after crashing out of the Champions League
Napoli failed to earn a play-off spot after suffering a 3-2 defeat by Chelsea on Wednesday
‘Each of us is trying to do our best, playing without thirteen players, many of them key, and holding our own against Chelsea in a European level match is the most important thing,’ Conte said.
‘Despite the difficulties this season, where since the beginning of the year we’ve had serious absences from long-term patients, we’re ultimately continuing to progress and grow.
Conte added: ‘I have energy, we have to play in two and a half days. It’s hard to understand who makes the schedules and puts three games in seven days.
‘I’d like to know who the genius is who makes the schedules. We play on Sunday, then now at 9pm, and then Saturday at 6pm.
‘Then they talk about injuries and many other things, but then they totally don’t give a damn.’
Napoli’s exit continued Conte’s underwhelming record in the Champions League, compared to his success in domestic football.
Conte has only gone as far as the quarter-finals in the competition, achieved in his debut season in the Champions League with Juventus.
The Italian coach has failed to reach the knockout stages in four of his seven seasons in the competition.
Conte pinpointed a draw with 10-man Copenhagen last week as the Italian champions’ biggest ‘regret’ in the league phase
Conte pinpointed Napoli’s 1-1 draw with 10-man Copenhagen last week as their ‘biggest regret’ in the league phase, rather than their defeat at the hands of his former club Chelsea.
‘The biggest mistake was definitely the one in Copenhagen. It should be a game everyone will regret, we all agree.
‘You can’t be a man and a goal up and then concede a penalty and equalise, otherwise we would have already qualified for the play-offs and it would have been less important. These are games that test us.
‘The level we showed despite being in a poor position shows that what Napoli are doing isn’t the result of chance but of careful work, which needs to continue.
‘Perhaps with a bit of good luck, because I don’t think there’s a team in the world that’s doing as well as we are.’
