Antonio Conte hails Romelu Lukaku after win over Cagliari | OneFootball

Serie A giants Napoli did have to struggle for a bit against Cagliari but they managed to pick up a convincing 4-0 win and they are now unbeaten in three consecutive games.

Romelu Lukaku scored again today and also got two assists for the Partenopei, who did lose their first game of the campaign but have managed to claw back nine points from a possible nine in three games.

Conte’s style seems to be coming together in the side too, with the players identifying their roles positionally and playing quickly through the lines. Lukaku has impressed a fair bit and after the game, Conte spoke to Sky Italia about the Belgian and his impact with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

He said (via TMW): “Romelu is a player that I sought out and wanted strongly at Inter and I had also asked Chelsea for him before United. He is physically strong but also progressing and from that point of view we have to work and improve a condition that is still not optimal.

“For us, however, he becomes a fundamental player, he has done very well and there is great predisposition on his part. I hope Khvicha can score many goals and understand that we expect from him the assist but also the important play to score. Today it was not really a match for characteristics like his or Politano, but I saw desire and determination that give us hope.”

He also spoke about the fact that the team has grown in character and that they are working with a certain sort of nastiness in their approach.

“This was a team that over the years didn’t like to get its hands dirty. After last year the switch was in this sense, beyond the technical qualities. And the team is certainly growing, even if it’s not easy to implant this aspect quickly. I have a group of really good guys, they understood and we are working on attention and nastiness, on desire and on keeping a clean sheet like tonight.”

Napoli have perhaps hit form at the right time as their next game sees them take on Juventus.

Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN