UCL: ‘He made the difference’ – Conte names Chelsea star that hurt Napoli

Napoli boss, Antonio Conte has praised Joao Pedro as a very important player for Chelsea following the Italian side’s 3-2 loss in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Enzo Fernandez scored a penalty to give Chelsea the lead, but Napoli took the lead in the first half with goals from Antonio Vergara and Rasmus Hojlund, making it 2-1.

Cole Palmer came on in the second half to replace Pedro Neto and he assisted Joao Pedro to score both of his goals, which helped Chelsea win the game at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

The result means Napoli failed to make it to the Champions League play-off, while Chelsea moved on to the last-16 stage.

They will face one of Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Monaco, or Qarabag next.

When asked if Joao Pedro was the key to Chelsea’s victory against Napoli, Conte said to Sky Sport, “Absolutely. Joao Pedro was the key player, he made the difference for them.”

The Italian, who is also a former Chelsea manager, continued, “In terms of quality, they played better in the final part of the field. They didn’t have many chances, but that’s the point — when top clubs take shots, they can be dangerous. We had many chances and created a lot of opportunities, but we need to get better at scoring goals.”

Conte felt that Napoli’s 1-1 draw against FC Copenhagen earlier this month, was the major reason for their failure to make the Champions League last 16.

He added, “I made it clear to the lads that the real disappointment is Copenhagen.

“That game almost made us lose, which meant we had to face a strong team that won the [Club] World Cup and had amazing players. I’m sad because I wanted to keep competing against the best.”