Conte rues dropping Osimhen as Verona embarrass Napoli

Antonio Conte's first match as Napoli boss went terribly as they suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Hellas Verona.

Nigerian striker and Napoli's top scorer for the past two seasons, Victor Osimhen, was unused as his future remains unresolved. The team failed to prove they could survive without him, as they were trounced by Verona at Marc Antonio Bentegodi Stadium.

Antonio Conte continues to keep Victor Osimhen out of the team, with the Nigerian striker having expressed his desire to leave the club. 

Giovanni Simeone started as the striker in his stead, with Khivcha Kvaratskhelia and Mateo Politano flanking him in Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 system. 

Napoli dominated the first half and created a truckload of chances, but with their goalscoring talisman dropping out of the squad, the rest struggled to find the back of the net. 

The star power in Conte's set-up for the match waned further when Kvaratskhelia sustained an injury and had to be substituted before half-time. Verona roared out the gate in the second half and scored only five minutes after resumption, thanks to a Dailon Livramento strike. 

Napoli soon steadied themselves and began dominating proceedings again, but just like in the first-half, they lacked the clinical edge. Daniel Mosquera punished the Partenopei’s blunt edge in the 75th minute when he beat Alex Meret two minutes after coming on. 

The Colombian forward doubled his tally in injury time to further compound Napoli's woes and clinch maximum points for Paolo Zanetti’s side.