Conte era off to shaky start as Napoli survive Coppa Italia scare 🇮🇹 | OneFootball

The Antonio Conte era at Napoli got off to a nervy start as the club scraped past Modena on penalties in the first round of the Coppa Italia.

A 10th-place finish in Serie A last season forced Napoli to enter the Coppa Italia in its first round. And despite heading into the match against Modena with four pre-season wins from five, it was a rough showing at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Conte couldn’t rely on Victor Osimhen who was absent from the squad as his impending exit was confirmed before kickoff.

But it was still a full-strength side with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Matteo Politano, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and the like leading the way against the side from Serie B.

Such a starting line-up subsequently led to Napoli dominating the game with 28 shots and 75% possession of the ball. Yet their lack of fluidity, rhythm or urgency led to only six shots on target.

Modena, meanwhile, remained composed and well up for the challenge of pulling off a massive upset. At times, nine players were back defending, and the match subsequently went to penalties.

That was where Conte’s men ultimately prevailed. Each team missed one of their penalties before Alex Meret denied Modena’s last spot kick to survive.