Antonio Conte has Khvicha Kvaratskhelia playing at his best again, and Napoli is winning once more.
Kvaratskhelia assisted one goal and scored another as Napoli defeated Bologna 3-0 on Sunday, marking the first Serie A win for Conte and the team’s first league victory since April 7.
Conte became Napoli’s fifth coach in just over a year when he was hired in June. However, his new team lost 3-0 to Hellas Verona in his first Serie A match.
“The punch in the face we got in Verona made us immediately understand that if we want to forget the past we have to stay in the center of the ring, you give punches and you get them, but you have to keep standing,” Conte said.
“I have a lot of faith in this group … it was a tough week but we united even more, you won’t get anywhere individually. These are my first three points with Napoli and I have great emotion. It is these feelings that push you to go further.”
Napoli also lost Kvaratskhelia to a minor head injury in Verona, but the Georgian winger was back on Sunday, even though he had just returned from his home country after his wife gave birth to their first child this week.
From the beginning in Naples, it was a different team, with Giacomo Raspadori nearly scoring in the opening minute.
Kvaratskhelia struck the crossbar just before halftime with a looping header from a difficult angle, but Napoli didn’t have to wait long for their first goal under Conte.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo started the play in first-half stoppage time, cutting inside from the right and passing to Kvaratskhelia. Kvaratskhelia then delivered a perfect ball back, lifting it over the Bologna defense for Di Lorenzo to score into the far corner of the net.
