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Conte: ‘Hojlund has great prospects, but Napoli glass half-empty’

Antonio Conte was visibly irritated after Napoli’s 3-1 victory over Fiorentina, as it is ‘not possible’ they ended under pressure. ‘Rasmus Hojlund has great prospects.’

The Partenopei continued their ideal start to the campaign with three wins out of three, and for the most part it was a very comfortable evening in Florence.

Kevin De Bruyne converted an early penalty, then Hojlund scored on his debut, with Sam Beukema also turning in for his first goal in the Napoli shirt.

Luca Ranieri ruined the clean sheet late on and sparked a Fiorentina fightback, but not enough to threaten the result.

Conte visibly irritated at Napoli finale

‘Hojlund has great prospects, but Napoli glass half-empty’

FLORENCE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 13: Antonio Conte manager of SSC Napoli reacts during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and SSC Napoli at Artemio Franchi on September 13, 2025 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

“We showed that we are ready. There was a good attitude from the start, it was a match that we dominated, as De Gea made several saves, so it’s not possible that we should struggle at the end,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

“The lads know, just as I tell my kids, where they need to improve, what I liked and didn’t like. We conceded a goal and then started to struggle. When you play this well, you need to kill off the game and keep it closed.”

Hojlund was not expected to be thrown into the starting XI straight away after his €6m loan from Manchester United with €44m option to buy at the end of the season, but he made an immediate impact.

“Hojlund is only 22 years old, we got him from Manchester United, seeing as it brought us luck doing that with McTominay,” joked Conte.

“We knew his qualities, he has great potential and can improve. You can see he’s a lad with great prospects.”

FLORENCE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 13: Antonio Conte manager of SSC Napoli gestures during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and SSC Napoli at Artemio Franchi on September 13, 2025 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

It was put to the coach that Hojlund is at his best when running into space, whereas Lorenzo Lucca and Romelu Lukaku can perhaps do better holding up the ball against more defensive sides.

“We signed Hojlund to replace Romelu, who will be out for a long time. Napoli controlled the match today, we also need someone who can hold the ball up, that’s true of all teams who want to dominate matches,” continued Conte.

“Everyone did well tonight, we were concentrated, allowing Fiorentina very little movement with our high press, which caused them a lot of problems.

“We could’ve scored more goals against a Fiorentina side who reached the Conference League Final for two years running, then the semi-final in the third, also reaching the Coppa Italia Final. We are talking about a team that has for years been well-structured to play in several tournaments, so they have really good players. I think they are being under-rated, so coming here and winning like this should make us feel strong.

“At the same time, we need to see where we can improve. I am not a perfectionist, but I do prefer to see the glass half-empty so I can focus on where we need to improve.”

It puts them in the ideal mindset to go into their opening Champions League fixture, which will be a trip to De Bruyne’s old club Manchester City at the Etihad on Thursday.